Sanguine / Bloedrood

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    During the cultural city festival Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens Inspires, the M HKA, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, juxtaposes the spirit of the baroque masters with the vision of contemporary top artists. With the exhibition Sanguine/Bloedrood (Blood Red), curator Luc Tuymans aims to overwhelm the visitor by placing key works from the baroque of, among others, Francisco de Zurbarán and Caravaggio, in dialogue with works by classical contemporary masters, such as On Kawara and Edward Kienholz, as well as new works by contemporary stars such as Zhang Enli, Takashi Murakami, Michaël Borremans, Sigmar Polke and Tobias Rheberger. 

    antwerpenbarok2018.be

    Marlene Dumas

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    (c)image: M HKA
    Semite, 2004
    Marlene Dumas
    Print , 35 x 45.5 cm
    ink, paper

    The silkscreen print *Semite* is the first from an edition of 10 prints that Marlene Dumas made in 2004. It is a portrait of a man, judging from the title of Middle-Eastern origin. On first view it’s a simple work: aside from eyes, nose and mouth, not many details are elaborated. In principle, the word *semite* refers to (most of) the inhabitants of the Middle-East, but in the expression *anti-semitism* the association in common parlance is usually with Jewry. As to whether this man is a Jew or an Arab, Dumas leaves open. She suggests that for her the difference does not matter. In her portraits, Dumas’ focus is on the specific individual instead of the generic; she does not make her protagonists into symbols for an overriding problematic issue.

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