Dumas
The image as burden
Born in South Africa in 1953, Marlene Dumas paints pictures of human figures. At first sight, they appear to be portraits painted from life, but Dumas is more than a figurative artist. She takes as a starting point images that already exist, such as photographs from books, films or newspapers, or scenes glimpsed on TV, in cinema works or in newspapers. Dumas then freezes these ephemeral images on her canvases. Her figures become symbols or embodiments of universal topics. The naked bodies, drawn faces, and intense expressions that she paints, convey themes such as violence, race issues, religion, love, suffering and death. Through each subject, Marlene Dumas represents a single life, and at the same time, a collective history known to us all and happening in front of our eyes.
)
The image as burden
Born in South Africa in 1953, Marlene Dumas paints pictures of human figures. At first sight, they appear to be portraits painted from life, but Dumas is more than a figurative artist. She takes as a starting point images that already exist, such as photographs from books, films or newspapers, or scenes glimpsed on TV, in cinema works or in newspapers. Dumas then freezes these ephemeral images on her canvases. Her figures become symbols or embodiments of universal topics. The naked bodies, drawn faces, and intense expressions that she paints, convey themes such as violence, race issues, religion, love, suffering and death. Through each subject, Marlene Dumas represents a single life, and at the same time, a collective history known to us all and happening in front of our eyes.
