A painting by Raoul de Keyser, titled Retour 2, dated 1999.
A painting by Raoul de Keyser, titled Retour 2, dated 1999.

Raoul De Keyser: Drift

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by Raoul De Keyser at our 537 West 20th Street location in New York. The show was on view at our London gallery in the Fall of 2015, and here features additional works by the late Belgian artist.

Raoul De Keyser: Drift is organized around a group of twenty-two works completed shortly before his death in October 2012, and known as The Last Wall. Together, they revisit some of the major subjects that occupied the artist throughout his nearly fifty-year long career, including the landscape of the Belgian lowlands where he grew up and lived his entire life, the inconspicuous things close at hand, and the partition of the picture plane. These paintings, which were shown together for the first time at David Zwirner in London in 2015, will be accompanied by a careful selection of works from the 1990s onwards that are likewise representative of these subjects and further contextualize the later series.

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For more information about available works contact inquiries@davidzwirner.com

An installation view featuring woks by Raoul De Keyser, dated 2016
An installation view featuring woks by Raoul De Keyser, dated 2016
An installation view featuring woks by Raoul De Keyser, dated 2016
An installation view featuring woks by Raoul De Keyser, dated 2016
An installation view featuring woks by Raoul De Keyser, dated 2016

Often understated, the emotional force of Raoul De Keyser’s cryptic and highly lyrical paintings is undeniable. Composed of very basic geometric shapes that hover between abstraction and figuration, many of De Keyser’s works seem to hint at forms just out of focus, spaces impossible to inhabit. Their power lies in their ability to suggest through simple gestures, and to compel intense contemplation. Since his death in 2012, De Keyser’s stature as a painter has only continued to grow, as has his influence on a younger generation of European painters. 

An untitled painting by Raoul de Keyser, dated 1982.

Raoul De Keyser

Untitled, 1971 - 1982
Oil on canvas in two (2) parts
Left Panel: 15 3/4 x 11 13/16 inches (40 x 30 cm) Right Panel: 15 3/4 x 11 13/16 inches (40 x 30 cm)
A painting by Raoul de Keyser, titled Hayward 3, dated 1993.

Raoul De Keyser

Hayward 3, 1993
Oil on canvas
21 9/16 x 12 3/8 inches (54.8 x 31.4 cm)
A painting by Raoul de Keyser, titled Come on, play it again nr. 2, dated 2001.

Raoul De Keyser

Come on, play it again nr. 2, 2001
Oil on canvas
51 1/4 x 74 13/16 inches (130.2 x 190 cm)
A painting by Raoul de Keyser, titled Detail, dated 2005.

Raoul De Keyser

Detail, 2005
Oil on canvas mounted on wood panel
7 1/16 x 6 5/16 inches (18 x 16 cm)
An installation view of the exhibition, Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.
An installation view of the exhibition Raoul de Keyser: Drift, at David Zwirner New York, dated 2016.

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