Doha: Qatar Museums (QM) yesterday announced the five winners of the ‘Luc Tuymans Challenge’, who will see their artworks displayed at QM’s latest exhibition ‘Your View’ at the QM Gallery, Al Riwaq, until January 31.
Presented under the leadership of QM Chairperson H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the competition was inspired by the works of internationally-acclaimed Belgian artist Luc Tuymans, whose major retrospective ‘Intolerance’ is on display at the QM gallery at Al Riwaq until January 30. The competition invited creatives from across the country to express views about world events though art.
The winners are Katrina Boyd, a teacher at Al Khor International School; Michael Perrone, a professor at VCU-Qatar; healthcare management professional Mohammed Muslim; and students Devi Sari and Maryam Nasser.
Each of them impressed Tuymans with their artworks, all of which are inspired by media-driven images of important moments in history that have affected the world and how we perceive it today.
Tuymans uses art to showcase his views on history, media and how we look at images.
Aware since the outset of his career that painting as an art form is widely considered in crisis, Tuymans adopted a contrasting stance.
Painting became for him a vehicle through which the most urgent and volatile issues, whether relating to history, identity, nationalism and belief, or to headline social and political events, could be opened up to a nuanced debate.
By bringing major international artists and their exhibitions to Qatar, such as ‘Intolerance’, QM is continuing to influence aspiring artists in the region and educate local communities about international art.
In line with QM’s vision to inspire an indigenous culture of creativity and innovation in Qatar, the competition sought to engage local artistic talent and further inspire local creativity.
Competitors were asked to submit a high-resolution photo of their painting to a website, including details of inspiration behind their work and a brief biography.
Born in 1958, Tuymans is regarded internationally as one of the key figures of a new generation of figurative painters, credited with having contributed to the revival of painting in the 1990s. His works are featured in museum collections worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; MoMA, New York; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Tate Gallery, London.
Among his major solo shows was a presentation of his portraits ‘Nice. Luc Tuymans’ at The Menil Collection, Houston in 2013. Previous major survey shows include those organised by Moderna Museet Malm?, Sweden in 2009 and Tate Modern, London in 2004. In 2001, the artist represented Belgium at the 49th Venice Biennale.The Peninsula
