Luc Tuymans, Still (2019). Oil on canvas. 90.6 x 176.2 cm. © Luc Tuymans. Courtesy David Zwirner.
Drawing on Flemish traditions of Realism, featuring representations of found images or photographs, Luc Tuymans' work engages with the world in a way that defies traditional narratives and histories to instead 'start from something real'.
His figurative paintings executed in muted colours and a hazy application of paint, create a dream-like frame, drawing on themes of memory and his interest in photography and moving image.
Still is inspired by a scene from David Lynch's film, Mulholland Drive (2001), in which Justin Theroux's character is confronted by a cowboy mysteriously advising him on his predicament.
Together with Outfit—a painting of the cowboy costume of Hollywood actor, Tom Mix—these works also investigate the image of the cowboy as a cultural embodiment of the U.S.A. and how this was exported globally. The title of the show, Good Luck, also hints to a more ominous or threatening message when considered alongside images of cowboys.
Luc Tuymans' exhibition Good Luck is showing with David Zwirner in their Hong Kong gallery, running from 27 October to 19 December 2020.
