Nothing about Tuymans seems lighthearted. A “spectacular” retrospective displays his trademark paintings based on found images. Painterly and widely influential, they often allude to dark historic events. Figuring out these references is difficult because Tuymans wants his paintings to have multiple layers. Otherwise, he fears, they are just “propaganda or illustration.”
As a young artist Singh used magazine pages for her art. That led to an affection for text, still visible in her work. Apart from a notable dalliance with abstraction, her work is figurative, displaying narrative scenes focused on female subjects. According to one market observer Singh, though 82 years old, may be “the next really big thing in Indian art.” A background piece is here.
The 1960’s US art scene was not all abstraction and Pop. Chicago had its own art moment – the Imagists. The group aesthetic was defined by quirky figuration and use of graphics. Sometimes the work looks like Pop – a love of bright colours and signage – though without the irony. Says the writer “I find myself falling for the work against my better judgment”.