On this, the one hundredth episode of A brush with…, Marlene Dumas talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to film-makers and, after all, different artists—and the cultural experiences which have formed her life and work.
Dumas was born in Cape City, South Africa, in 1953 and lives and works in Amsterdam. She is a painter whose depth is unrivalled. Utilizing discovered photos and responding to reminiscence, she has the power to seduce and repel, to lull and to shock, usually all in a single picture or group of works. She is endlessly daring in her questioning of her medium and what it could possibly do, within the unorthodox codecs and scale she chooses for her imagery, in the best way she displays on historic artwork and concepts, films and literature, and in her unflinching confrontation of her personal life.
Useless Marilyn, 2008Assortment: Kravis Assortment. Images: Peter Cox, Eindhoven. Copyright: Marlene Dumas. Courtesy picture: Studio Dumas
Her work and drawings are a method of responding to exterior occasions and inner emotions in methods that may be absurd, confounding, humorous and profoundly affecting. And whereas her themes and language are constant, she is all the time pushing herself to new territory and breaking boundaries.
She discusses the early affect of comedian illustration, the enduring impact on her of Francisco Goya’s work, how she grew to like the work of Edgar Degas, Edvard Munch and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres after first dismissing them, and her admiration for Nicole Eisenman and Diane Arbus, amongst others.
She additionally offers perception in her life within the studio and solutions our regular questions, together with, “What’s artwork for?”.
Homage to Michelangelo, 2012.
Assortment: Pinault Assortment. Credit images: Peter Cox, Eindhoven. Copyright: Marlene Dumas. Courtesy picture: Studio Dumas
Marlene Dumas: Mourning Marsyas, Frith Road Gallery, London, till 16 November
This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, the humanities and tradition app.
The free app presents entry to an unlimited vary of worldwide cultural organisations by means of a single obtain, with new guides being added recurrently. They embrace among the world’s most celebrated museums of contemporary and modern artwork, during which Marlene Dumas has had solo exhibitions. Amongst them are the Nationwide Portrait Gallery and Tate within the UK and, within the US, the Museum of Trendy Artwork, ICA Boston and the Museum of Up to date Artwork, or MOCA, Los Angeles. In case you obtain Bloomberg Connects, you’ll uncover that the information to MOCA has in-depth options on solo exhibitions by two main modern artists, Olafur Eliasson and Josh Kline, together with focuses on essential works and video content material.
