In Conversation
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Luc Tuymans

“My work is about layering” Tuymans said, “seeing what is there and what is not there”. While his work resonated with a lot of political and historical imagery, Tuymans tends to leave it to the viewer to describe what they see and how the image makes them feel.

He also enhances this internalisation by creating a dissonance between the title of the painting and the painting itself. The painting Wonderland was used as an example. It was inspired by the failed grand-opening of Disneyland, saying “It’s about an illusion, utopian ideal, a perfect world which of course isn’t real”. 

“It’s all a bigger concept, a bigger world”, Tuymans said, referring both to the exhibition and to the exhibition space… “if you see my work, (on display in the Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq), it’s not in chronological order… it’s in pockets of meaning”. The contents of each room holds meaning on its own, but also tying in to the theme of Intolerance.  And with that the conversation with Luc Tuymans ended.

Tuymans work is about seeing through all the layers, and uncovering the concept beneath. It was fascinating to see how a painter views the world, with so much depth and to be able to reveal it to an enthralled audience.