Three young writers and exhibition curators - Gerrit Vermeiren, Dieter Roelstraete and Montserrat Albores Gleason - reflect on the challenging artistic and social positions taken by painter Luc Tuymans. Tujymans is currently, if only in terms of market value. Belgium's most prominent contemporary artist. This book is an invitation tot the reader, to look beyond the paintings. While Tuymans is and remains a painter first and foremost, a lot goes on in the margins of his paintings, before and after their creation. The artist has recently opened up a part of his artistic practice, in the form of Polaroids and other documents. that was previously largely out of sight. It is now possible as never before to chart his fascinations and working processes.
Tuymans willingly allows himself to be caught engaging with visual culture, using the frozen image to make something with real meaning. As though driven by a fear of boring himself, he allows explanations and misunderstandings to flourish unchecked.