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