Series # 32, 2005 oil on canvas; 43 x 43 cm Robert Ryman After a first exhibition five years ago of paintings from the sixties, Xavier Hufkens is pleased to announce a new exhibition of work by Robert Ryman. On this occasion, the world's most famous living painter is showing a series of new paintings alongside older works. In the new paintings, Robert Ryman remains faithful to his concrete, material approach: the application of neutral white paint on a support. For the man who so clearly summarised his work in the statement: "There is never a question of what to paint, but only how to paint. The how of painting has always been the image", each new painting remains a challenge. For more than forty years he has been creating painterly oeuvres solely based on the precise manipulation of physical components. Each painting is a combination of elements that forge a visible reality. These elements include a variety of supports (canvas, paper, wood, metal, plexi glass, fibre glass...), paint of various consistencies, gloss or matt, individually selected hanging methods, as well as completely different techniques of paint application, surface structure, and manipulation of the picture's edge. Each work is the sum of a series of practical decisions Ryman takes during the painting process, consolidated into an overall effect of great complexity. It is important to Ryman that he never becomes too comfortable with his work, that it is always new to him. "At the beginning I have to somewhat blindly find my way", he says, "and it is only after several months that I can finally see how the paintings are developing. Then it becomes more clear how they are working, how they feel. How the paintings look can be deceiving, but the way they feel is more important. Usually they are not what I expected, although I don't know exactly what I expect. At the same time I am surprised at how the paintings develop into something I hadn't foreseen and at times there are doubts. You would think at my age, doubt in painting would be a thing of the past, but it happens on occasion. I think it is because my technical approach is always somewhat different and I am not so clear about it. Anyway, I have learned to accept doubt as part of the process." On the occasion of the exhibition, a catalogue will be published with an introductory text by the Dutch artist, Jan Dibbets, a personal friend of Robert Ryman. Exhibition: 17 November - 17 December 2005 Gallery hours: Tues-Sat 12 - 6 pm Xavier Hufkens Gallery Sint-Jorisstraat 6-8 Rue Saint-Georges B-1050 Brussels Telephone +32 2 639 67 30 Fax +32 2 639 67 38 Email info@xavierhufkens.com www.xavierhufkens.com |
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