Painting on the bullfight

Description

In this painting, René Daniëls plays with perspective. The blue shape appears to represent three walls of a room. The red panels follow this perspective and could be rectangular paintings. The yellow panels disregard this. They lead a life of their own and interfere with the spatial illusion. The blue ‘room’ stands like theatrical scenery on a floor that continues beyond the walls. A red painted border forms a kind of frame, although Daniëls appears not yet to have decided what to use for the top and the right parts of it. If we consider the blue shape to be a flat plane, it looks like a bow tie.

This painting is part of a series entitled Mooie tentoonstellingen [Beautiful Exhibitions], which features the bow tie/room as a common motif. Daniëls had a love-hate relationship with the art world. Although he wanted to belong to it and participate in beautiful exhibitions, he also had his reservations about it. The gallery serves as an arena for the artist. How will the work be received? Is the artist the toreador or the bull? Will he be victorious or put to the sword?

[2020]

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