Studio Dumas/Marlene Dumas
Tree of life with five round images
The South African artist Marlene Dumas, who lives in Amsterdam and is internationally known, designed an altarpiece for the Annenkirche in the center of Dresden. The Foundation of Art & Music for Dresden decided to financially support this outstanding testimony of contemporary art in Dresden and especially its communication to a broad public.
The creation of the altarpiece was an extraordinary undertaking for the painter, if only because of its dimensions: it is 3.60 meters wide and 7.80 meters high. It consists of five circular paintings by Marlene Dumas, a sixth by Jan Andriesse, and a Tree of Life painted by Bert Boogaard that connects them. In the motifs the great Christian and human themes become topical in an immediate way.
Inauguration:
March 26, 2017
Oliver Killig
Studio Dumas/Marlene Dumas
About MARLENE DUMAS
Jackie Nickerson
Marlene Dumas gained increasing notoriety since the late 1980s. In her overall work, the artist remains closely connected to the figure. She usually takes photographs as her point of departure, which she transforms into expressive painterly portraits and figure pieces. A special emotional power is inherent in these works - and often also a socially critical attitude subtly brought into the picture.
The works of Marlene Dumas, whether paintings or works on paper, have become "contemporary classics," and some of the South African's pictorial inventions are already considered downright iconic. Especially in recent times, the artist has been honored again and again with important exhibitions.
Marlene Dumas, who among other things received the Dutch State Prize for Fine Arts in 2012, lives and works in Amsterdam.