David Zwirner is pleased to present Raoul De Keyser, on view at the gallery’s Hong Kong location. The first solo show of the artist’s work in Greater China, the exhibition will feature paintings from the last twenty-five years of De Keyser’s five-decade career, illustrating his intuitive—yet rigorous—facility with his medium. Complementing the presentation in Hong Kong will be an online exhibition, New Visions: After De Keyser, that situates the late Belgian painter in dialogue with contemporary painters whose art continues to relate to or be informed by his pioneering compositions.
De Keyser (1930–2012) is known for his sophisticated and tempered paintings that subtly and evocatively explore the relationship between color and form. Made up of simple shapes and painterly marks, his works allude to the natural world and representational imagery, while avoiding suggestions of narrative or reductive frameworks that limit experience and interpretation. Despite—or precisely because of—their spare compositions, De Keyser’s works convey a visual intensity that inspires prolonged contemplation, mirroring the artist’s own sustained, reflective process. As the art historian and curator Ulrich Loock notes: “In the case of De Keyser, the autonomy of painting is not an overarching, ultimate goal to be reached by a detour through its opposite. Rather … De Keyser succeeds in creating a situation in which his painting is kept free from pure subjective construction and is able, through mimesis, to acknowledge a reality outside itself.… Through a particular kind of self-referentiality, he manages to balance depiction and the autonomy of the image, avoiding a compromise between the two.”1
The works on view in Hong Kong include key examples of De Keyser’s singularly compelling and distinctive paintings, including works employing hard-edge geometric forms and contrasting colors, such as Model for Cabinet (1989), as well as those exhibiting a brushier, looser facture, as in Front (1992). Some canvases are rife with overlapping shapes and forms, resulting in visual tension between surface and depth that unfolds over the course of extended periods of viewing. Other paintings are more sparsely populated with semi-uniform shapes—such as ovals—and a restrained palette that highlights the flatness of the support while also creating an indeterminate sense of negative and positive space. A 2010 documentary on De Keyser by Jan Blondeel will also be on view in the gallery, offering visitors an opportunity to further familiarize themselves with the artist’s work and life.
Presented in tandem with the exhibition in Hong Kong is New Visions: After De Keyser, an exclusively online viewing experience featuring recent work by some of today’s foremost painters, including gallery artists Tomma Abts, Francis Alÿs, Harold Ancart, Chris Ofili, and Luc Tuymans, as well as Richard Aldrich, Fahd Burki, Matt Connors, Ilse D’Hollander, Yuki Higashino, Ridley Howard, Lee Kit, Rebecca Morris, Loïc Raguénès, and John Zurier. For many of these artists, De Keyser has been a direct influence, inspiring their own engagements with the painted surface, through his intuitive approach to balancing the figurative and the abstract, his highly personal yet studied method for distilling form to its seeming essence, and his uncanny ability to achieve maximum visual effect through the forthright treatment of color and form. Others featured in the show are longtime admirers of his work who wish to honor the legacy of their fellow artist.
Among the works presented in New Visions is one of Hong Kong–native Lee Kit’s signature hand-painted cloths, which simultaneously evokes the traditions of Chinese scroll painting while also echoing De Keyser’s diaphanous and thoughtfully treated color fields. The restrained yet taut surface of John Zurier’s near-monochrome Keisetsu no Kou (2019) shares an understated forcefulness with De Keyser’s stark black-and-white R.A.T. (2012). The warm pinkish hues of Francis Alÿs’s sky-like abstraction Untitled (2010) is complemented by the cool, gentle blues of De Keyser’s Untitled (2012). Rebecca Morris’s abstract surface of mosaic-like fragments of colorful patterns embedded in staccato daubs of azure blue exhibits the same free creative spirit as De Keyser’s playful treatment of form in Across (2000/2009) and Passage (2010). New Visions: After De Keyser presents these and other moments of synchrony and syncopation, confluence and contrast between these artists and De Keyser, visualizing how his art continues to be cherished by these as well as countless other established and up-and-coming artists—a testament to De Keyser’s relevance across generations.
Raoul De Keyser was born in Deinze, Belgium, in 1930. Since 1999, his work has been represented by David Zwirner. Previous solo exhibitions at the gallery in New York include Come on, play it again (2001); Remnants (2003); Recent Work (2006); Terminus: Drawings (1979–1982) and Recent Paintings (2009); Freedom (2011); and Drift (2016), which was first on view at David Zwirner, London (2015).
Since the mid-1960s, the artist’s work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions at prominent institutions. In 2000, a large-scale retrospective was presented at The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, which traveled to the Goldie Paley Gallery, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, and The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. A major survey of the artist’s paintings traveled extensively from 2004 through 2005 to the Whitechapel Gallery, London; Musée de Rochechouart, France; De Pont Museum for Contemporary Art, Tilburg, The Netherlands; Museu de Serralves, Porto, Portugal; and the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 2009, his paintings were exhibited in a retrospective at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany, and his watercolors were presented jointly at the Museu de Serralves, Porto, Portugal, and the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin.
Other venues that have hosted important solo exhibitions include the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent (2001); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium (2002); Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek, Deinze, Belgium (2007, 2013, 2017); Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France (2008); De Loketten, Flemish Parliament, Brussels (2011); and the Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2015). Opening in spring 2021 M WOODS, Beijing, will present a solo exhibition of De Keyser’s work.
In 2018, a major retrospective of the artist’s work, Raoul De Keyser: Oeuvre, opened at the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.) in Ghent and traveled to Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2019). In 2018, Cultuurcentrum Strombeek Grimbergen, Belgium, presented Raoul De Keyser in Print: Zeefdrukken, Lithografieën, Linosneden, Etsen, a survey exhibition of the artist’s prints.
Work by the artist is held in permanent collections worldwide, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent.
1Ulrich Loock, “Drift,” in Raoul De Keyser: Drift. Exh. cat. (New York: David Zwirner Books, 2016), p. 11.
Image: Raoul De Keyser, Passage, 2010 (detail)
《拉烏爾·德·凱澤》Raoul De Keyser
2021年1月15日-3月6日
中環皇后大道中80號H Queen’s 5-6樓
香港
卓納畫廊欣然於香港空間呈現《拉烏爾·德·凱澤》。這將是藝術家在大中華地區的首次個展，聚集橫跨德·凱澤五十多年職業生涯中後二十五年間的繪畫作品，呈現了藝術家對繪畫媒介所抱持的充滿直覺而又嚴謹的創作天賦。此外，線上展覽《新視野：致敬德·凱澤》將與香港展覽同期舉辦，以使這位已故比利時抽象畫家的作品與當代畫家們進行對話，後者的藝術至今仍然與德·凱澤開創性的作品密切相關或深受其影響。
拉烏爾·德·凱澤（1930-2012）以其複雜精緻而又克制的繪畫聞名於世，它們以細巧且煥發共鳴的方式探尋著色彩與形式之間的關係。他的作品由簡潔的圖形和繪畫性標記所構成，展現了自然的世界及再現表徵的意象，同時避免對敘述的暗示或者任何會限制經驗與理解的減化性框架。儘管——或者說正是因為——德·凱澤的作品有著疏鬆的構圖，它們傳達了一種能夠激發長時間沉思的視覺張力，同時反映出藝術家持續的、極具反思的藝術創作進程。正如藝術史學者及策展人烏爾里希·洛克（Ulrich Loock）所說：「就德·凱澤而言，繪畫的自主性並不是一個首要且終極的目標，也並不需要通過迂迴曲折甚至反向的路徑才能抵達。相反……德·凱澤成功地營造出一種情境，在其中，他的繪畫擺脫了純粹主觀的建構，並且經由擬態而得以認知到獨立於其自身之外的現實……通過一種特定的自我指涉，他設法在圖像的描繪與其自主性之間達成平衡，並且避免了兩者的相互妥協。」1
這次香港個展將呈現不少佳作，以展示德·凱澤獨具特色且引人矚目的繪畫創作，其中包括運用了「硬邊」幾何形態及對比色彩的作品，例如《櫥櫃模型》（Model for Cabinet，1989），還有一些筆觸和手法更柔和、鬆散的作品，像是《前方》（Front，1992）。在一些作品中，畫面上滿是形狀與體塊的交疊，表面和深度之間的視覺張力得以在長時間的觀看之下逐漸顯現。另一些繪畫則稀疏地勾勒出並不完全統一均勻的形狀，比如各種橢圓，並運用了克制的調色，它們凸顯了背板支撐的平坦，同時又生成了正向與負向空間所具有的不確定性。此外，展覽還將放映由揚·布朗德爾（Jan Blondeel）創作於2010年的德·凱澤紀錄片，讓觀眾能夠更多地了解藝術家的創作和生平。
此外，線上展覽《新視野：致敬德·凱澤》將與香港展覽同時進行，呈現近年最前沿的多位藝術家的近期作品，其中包括卓納藝術家托瑪·阿布茨（Tomma Abts）、哈羅德·安卡特（Harold Ancart）、弗朗西斯·埃利斯（Francis Alÿs）、克里斯·奧菲利（Chris Ofili）和呂克·圖伊曼斯（Luc Tuymans），此外還有理查德·阿爾德里奇（Richard Aldrich）、法赫德·伯基（Fahd Burki）、馬特·康納斯（Matt Connors）、伊爾莎·德霍蘭德（Ilse D'Hollander）、東野雄樹（Yuki Higashino）、瑞德利·霍華德（Ridley Howard）、李傑（Lee Kit）、 麗貝卡·莫里斯（Rebecca Morris）、洛伊科·拉格內絲（Loïc Raguénès）和約翰·祖里爾（John Zurier）等著名當代藝術家。對許多藝術家來說，德·凱澤有著直接而深遠的影響：他直覺地平衡具象與抽象的創作方式；以高度個人化而又經過細究的手法，將形式提煉成畫面本質；以及他不可思議地通過對顏色和形式的直接處理，而達成最大化的視覺效果——這些都啟發著後輩藝術家們對繪畫表面的深刻介入。展覽中的另一些藝術家，則長久以來一直仰慕德·凱澤的作品，他們希望藉此機會向這位同行致以敬意。
本次線上展覽將呈現香港藝術家李傑標誌性的手繪布面作品，他的創作在讓人想起傳統中國卷軸的同時，也呼應著德·凱澤透徹且處理細緻的色塊。約翰·祖里爾（John Zurier）近乎單色的《螢雪之功》（Keisetsu no Kou，2019）呈現了內斂且緊繃的畫面，作品與德·凱澤黑白鮮明的畫作《RAT》（2012 ）共同展示了某種低調樸素的堅韌力量。弗朗西斯·埃利斯（Francis Alÿs）有如天空般的抽像作品《無題》（Untitled，2010）帶著溫暖的粉紅色調，與德·凱澤《無題》（Untitled，2012）作品中冷酷、柔和的藍色相得益彰。麗貝卡·莫里斯（Rebecca Morris）滿是馬賽克般彩色圖案碎片的抽像畫面，有如鑲嵌在蔚藍色的筆刷塗抹的斷奏之中，作品展現了與德·凱澤共通的一種自由創作的精神，這在德·凱澤趣意盎然的作品《穿越》（Across，2000/2009）和《旅程》（Passage，2010）中尤為鮮明。 《新視野：致敬德·凱澤》呈現了這些藝術家與德·凱澤在創作中或同步或切分、或融合或對比的瞬間，視覺地展示了德·凱澤的藝術是如何持續地深受這些藝術家，及無數業已成名或嶄露頭角的藝術家們的珍愛——這也足以表明他在各代藝術家們心目中始終佔據著重要的地位。
拉烏爾·德·凱澤（Raoul De Keyser）1930年出生於比利時代因澤（Deinze）。卓納畫廊自1999年起開始代理他的作品。藝術家已在卓納紐約空間舉辦過多次個展，《來吧，再玩一次》（2001）、《殘餘》（2003）、《近期作品》（2006）、《終站：1979-1982年的畫作及近期繪畫》（2009）、《自由》（2011）和《流動》（2016），其中《流動》首展於卓納畫廊的倫敦空間（2015）。
自1960年代中期以來，藝術家的作品一直在諸多重要的機構中舉辦個展。 2000年，都柏林皇家希伯尼安學院為藝術家舉辦了大型回顧展，並巡展至費城莫爾藝術與設計學院的戈迪·佩利畫廊，以及芝加哥大學文藝復興學會。 2004至2005年間，藝術家繪畫作品的重要專題個展在各地廣泛巡展，包括倫敦白教堂美術館、法國羅什舒阿爾藝術博物館、荷蘭蒂爾堡的德龐特藝術博物館、葡萄牙波爾圖的塞拉維斯當代藝術博物館以及瑞士聖加倫藝術博物館。 2009年，藝術家的作品在德國波恩藝術博物館舉辦了回顧展，他的水彩作品則同期舉辦於葡萄牙波爾圖的塞拉維斯當代美術館以及都柏林的道格拉斯海德美術館。
其他為藝術家舉辦過重要個展的機構還包括：S.M.A.K.比利時國立當代藝術博物館，根特（2001）；鄧特-達恩斯博物館，比利時多爾（2002）；范·代因澤·德·里斯特里克博物館，比利時代因澤（2007，2013及2017）；奧弗涅地區FRAC當代藝術基金會，法國克萊蒙費朗（2008）；佛蘭芒社區的德洛凱滕，布魯塞爾（2011） ；因弗里斯之家，愛丁堡皇家植物園（2015）。此外，2021年春季，北京木木美術館將為德·凱澤的作品舉辦個展。
2018年，藝術家的大型回顧展《拉烏爾·德·凱澤：畢生之作》在位於根特的S.M.A.K.比利時國立當代藝術博物館舉行，並在隨後巡展至德國慕尼黑的現代藝術陳列館（2019） 。同樣是在2018年，比利時的Strombeek Grimbergen文化中心舉辦了展覽《拉烏爾·德·凱澤的版畫：絲網印、石版版畫、油氈浮雕版畫、蝕刻版畫》，專注呈現藝術家的版畫作品。
藝術家的作品由世界各地眾多機構囊括於其永久館藏之中，包括賓州匹茲堡的卡內基藝術博物館、比利時多爾的鄧特-達恩斯博物館、德國科隆的路德維希博物館、洛杉磯的當代藝術博物館、紐約現代藝術博物館、安特衛普當代藝術博物館、慕尼黑現代藝術陳列館、舊金山現代藝術博物館以及位於根特的S.M.A.K.比利時國立當代藝術博物館等。
注：
1. Ulrich Loock, “Drift,” in Raoul De Keyser: Drift. Exh. cat. (New York: David Zwirner Books, 2016), p. 11.
烏爾里希·洛克（Ulrich Loock），《流動》，收錄於《拉烏爾·德·凱澤：流動》展覽圖冊（紐約：卓納圖書出版，2016年），第11頁。