Marlene Dumas

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Originally published in 2010 for Dumas’s first solo presentation at David Zwirner in New York, this sought-after exhibition catalogue has been reprinted to coincide with her 2014–2015 European retrospective, The Image as Burden. Marlene Dumas, described by Deborah Solomon as “one of contemporary art’s most compelling painters,” explores complex human emotions, addressing themes of gender, race, sexuality, and economic inequality through her haunting figural compositions. Her work often merges socio-political themes with personal experiences, reflecting on pressing contemporary issues. The large-scale pieces in this exhibition primarily draw from media imagery and newspaper clippings related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, examining the tension between photographic documentation and the imagined space of painting. The series begins with The Wall, which initially seems to depict the Western Wall but is based on a photograph of Orthodox Jews en route to Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. Dumas’s delicate treatment of each scene challenges preconceived notions of truth and justice. She describes these works as her “first landscape paintings” or “territory paintings,” emphasizing their expansive scale. The somber color plates are contextualized by Dumas’s reflections in a letter to David Zwirner, where she articulates the “why” behind this powerful series.