"There are no tyrannies that would not try to limit art, because they can see the power of art. Art can tell the world things that cannot be shared otherwise. It is art that conveys feelings."
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine
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Marlene Dumas
©Private collection, Courtesy Zeno X Gallery, photographer: Peter Cox
Magdalena (a painting needs a wall to object to), 1995
Marlene Dumas makes engaged portraits, infused with an oppressive unrest, and painted with a sometimes wild, hasty touch. It is no coincidence that precisely the work Magdalena will be shown in the exhibition, a dark and penetrating painting of a female figure turning around. It evokes associations with both disgust and resistance. The gesture conveyed by Marlene Dumas in this work expresses both a remarkable directness, but also an extreme reticence, which functions as a shield of sorts.
Text: Hans Willemse
Translations: Michael Meert
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