Marlene Dumas
Female
📘 About This Book
Keine andere Serie war im Selbstverständnis und heute in der Rückschau der Künstlerin prägender und für die weitere Arbeit vielleicht entscheidender als die Porträtreihe »Female« aus den Jahren 1992 bis 1993. Erstmals überhaupt in einem Buch ausführlicher dargestellt, wird die Serie von einigen ganz aktuellen Bildern sowie Arbeiten aus der Folge »Stripping Girls« von 2000, aber beinahe wichtiger noch, wirklich bereichert um ein Konvolut Zeichnungen, Notizbücher und Materialcollagen aus den Jahren 1972 bis 1976, aus dem heraus eindrücklich das Potential, die gesamte Entwicklung Marlene Dumas' zur international gefeierten Maler-»Fürstin« gezeigt, nachvollzogen werden kann. Marlene Dumas steht heute für einen schonungslosen, anti-didaktischen, aber dennoch feministischen Blick auf den Körper wie die psychische Realität der Existenz von Frauen. Das ist in den frühen Arbeiten bereits angelegt und gut sichtbar, steigert sich aber natürlich in der Serie »Female«, wo sie das einzelne Gesicht der Frau, später in der Serie »Models« von 1994 den einzelnen Körper der Frau, in der Masse aufgehen läßt. Indem Marlene Dumas diesen Schritt in der Darstellung geht, setzt sie, mit ihren in Serie gebrachten Einzelbildern, der Typisierung und Vereinheitlichung aus einem täglichen Umgang mit Bilder ihre künstlerische Präzision entgegen. Ausstellungen: Kunsthalle Helsinki, 20/08-2/10/05 The Nordic Watercolor Museum, Skärhamn, Schweden, 15/10-30/11/2005 Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, 17/12/05-26/02/06
📖 Summary
Marlene Dumas offers a profound visual and conceptual journey into the mind and creative evolution of one of contemporary art's most celebrated figures. Published in 2005 across 168 pages, this monograph serves as a vital exploration of the artist's career, placing a primary focus on her seminal and deeply formative portrait series titled Female, created between 1992 and 1993. Within the context of Dumas's overarching self-understanding and artistic development, no other body of work holds quite the same level of crucial importance. For the first time in publication history at the time of its release, the Female series is presented in extensive and thoughtful detail, allowing readers and art enthusiasts alike to fully immerse themselves in the striking intensity of these pieces. The volume expands beyond this iconic series by incorporating a selection of her very recent paintings alongside works from the compelling Stripping Girls sequence produced in the year 2000. However, perhaps the most revealing and enriching addition to the book is a carefully curated collection of drawings, personal notebooks, and material collages dating from 1972 through 1976. By bridging her early developmental years with her mature masterpieces, the book vividly traces the trajectory of Dumas's immense artistic potential, illuminating the precise steps of her evolution into an internationally acclaimed master of painting. Throughout her body of work, Dumas maintains a reputation for a fiercely uncompromising, anti-didactic yet inherently feminist perspective on the human body. Her approach resists simple categorization or moralizing instructions, choosing instead to confront the viewer with raw, emotionally charged portrayals that challenge traditional representations of identity, gender, and physicality. This publication captures the essence of that rare vision, documenting how an artist can interrogate the socio-political implications of the flesh without ever sacrificing painterly urgency. Whether examining her early archival collages from the nineteen-seventies or the haunting gaze of her later portraits, readers gain unprecedented access to the methodologies that underpin her enduring legacy. The book stands as an indispensable resource for understanding how Dumas carved out a unique space in modern art history, blending psychological depth with a relentless interrogation of visual culture. By exposing the inner workings of her creative process through preliminary sketches and finished canvases alike, the monograph honors the complexity of an artist who continues to redefine the boundaries of portraiture and bodily representation.
🎯 Key Lessons
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
Provides the first extensive book publication of the influential Female portrait series.
Offers rare archival access to early drawings, notebooks, and collages from 1972 to 1976.
Traces the clear artistic development of an internationally acclaimed master painter.
Features complementary works including recent paintings and the Stripping Girls series.
⚠️ Cons
The heavy reliance on visual work may leave readers seeking exhaustive textual biographies wanting more narrative.
Focuses heavily on specific periods, which may not cover the entirety of her later career post-2005.
❓ FAQ
What is the primary focus of the book Marlene Dumas? +
The book focuses primarily on the artist's seminal portrait series Female from 1992 to 1993, alongside early archival materials and later works.
When was this book published and how long is it? +
The book was published in 2005 and spans 168 pages.
What early materials are included in the publication? +
It includes a valuable konvolut of drawings, personal notebooks, and material collages dating from 1972 to 1976.
Which other artwork series are featured in the book? +
Alongside the Female series, the book features very recent paintings and works from the Stripping Girls sequence created in the year 2000.
How is Marlene Dumas's perspective on the body described? +
Her perspective is characterized as a relentless, anti-didactic, yet distinctly feminist view of the human body.
