Raoul De Keyser Paintings 1980 -1999 Edited by Steven Jacobs With contributions by Steven Jacobs, Wim Van Mulders, Roland Jooris, Bart Cassiman, Dirk De Vos , Ulrich Loock, Roberta Smith, Hans Rudolf Reust, Gregory Salzman LUDION I Cera HOLDING What Remains oj Depth is Enveloped in Colour Raoul De Keyser's Painting 1964 - 2 000 Steven Jacobs for /{o, ,, M. Painting as a Re a l All egory: The Corpo rea lity of P a intin g When eUllvl'l'sillg willi HaoullJc Keyse r ubou l the lilt' IllltlW nrCUSI HlI1:' Cou rhell'cgulady emp ... lip. /\ s II ( ·O ll Sc.:i(Il I ~ I\Clllis l, COIlt'hel Old Mastel's understood Ihal rcality had 10 be l1'1tnS](ll.cd inlo 11 pieltlt'iu l logit'; n IO!,k thai I'Ctlllircd painlt:rs tu f'xplor~ the dellsi ty the Sllrface, moulding the or mill eritll of I ht' I)ainl and l't l1t1ering the subjects dose/'III the viewers lW lhal l hcy al'e almost physiclIlty absorbed by Ihe pai nlillg. At 11 tin1\' wiltOn th e ('11(1 o f Modl'rnisl painlillg is heing almo.c;1 irl('cssn nHy Iwut'iai nwd, it is "t>mark · able that Ill' Keyser looks 10 Cow'bel, who stan ds at the \'t'ry heginning III' this Inul ilinn. \\ herc Comlwl lay Iht~ f"umlaliOIl S I"or II new pietori'll sensihi l it y, I)c Kt' ysc r cnn st anl ly link!'!"!! with i IS houndat"ies. Where <1 II C W pit-toriall)aradiglll was dcfinc(1 inlhc mid-nirlt'tt'cnlh eCll ltll"Y, its complexities and (:ontr(lcii cIiIlIlS at"t ~ nnw heing exposed IIt"O\llld 150 yellrs 11111'1". ~ut why is Co w·bel slgllilicnlll III a eon lcmpol·al·Y [.wintel'likt> I\aoul [)~ I\t'y!'\er? Perllilps .111 ;HlSlVcr lIIay Iw I"olliid ill th e Wl"ilill gs of" to.·lidw e[ Fried. III his ('unlmvcr sial I'ssa)' 'AI·l iHld Objecl hood' (l!.lm, Fl"krl[)nintcd lolh e '1IH!lItric.IIHy' of Minillwl At!. that is, the illlpllrl<mcc nfthe eonsdous I)()sil i on of l i lt: Vit'WI'I· in relali"n ttl Ihe work or art. This insight lalc r hl'Otight him Itl IIlllke t'OlTlplII·aIJk alwlyses nf cighl('('ulh- ;lIld nincleelllh-t:clllu ry 1)llilltill#! in, respecti vely, IIbSII17)li IJII (/lui 'I7lellll1"miil.l': Pa il/ling mul Bel/oldel" ill lhe liKe Iii /Jidl'ml and COllrbel's lfealislI/. ' I\('t"ol'd in g 10 Frkll , COLII·bel 's I\t'alism IVaI' (I 1't'!'\11onse ttl the incl't'lising illallPropriateness nf n clrlllllllli t' Irllclilirlll wh ich engen(lt>I·ed lhe illusion lhallhf' viewel· did not exist. The acl swer'pill #; nsidt-' Iht, th eall'knlil y of 1I(::lt!('llli e !minting k.II Cr)l u·ht:l 10 e ,~pllll"(~ such Ihemes ,IS or CUSI'''~ ,\111. .. '"'' C,,"rtll"l. '11" III>"/'"$ 'ifill" W,.,... I,,,,,,,. ,·,~,r !'o ·h",,,, Ih'"~h''', '1I7~. CIo,·", f'nl hodimcnl aud t'ol"pOI·(,lIlity ill J;cncral (H1(111lt' matcl'iillity of paint i ng i n ]llll't i<;ullu'. Dc Kt'yscl"s capl"il"ious pUintili gs ('on swnll y play 011 Ihi s milk riality. They ael like glass sIII'faCCS hesitaling hetwcel1 l!"fl nspurency /111(1 r (!n eclioll . They are both w i ndows (ill U1C sense nr Alherti ) anrl Mininlali s\, 'specifi c obj et'ts'. They flrc hoth far alltl 11('111", Vis \1! s anti IIcuJptlll"es. IIluslollisll (" and l'UIIC1"t'lc. llilil ge Iln<ll11tint. I\1ct<lphori c ,1I)t! melonymic. Th ey are lIe ll~s ati s li e d lind illlrovcl'tc d, yC'1 it is exactly lheil' !'\ tubborn indiffi ~ l·e ll ce 10 lheir SUl"roundings Ihal lellds LJWI11 II spalia l rlil11t'nSiulI. Pre(:iscly IllI"ough their indifference 10 the viewel· arc they aille \0 Infiltnll e his gaze. Ta xo nomy a nd Teleo logy 1301h the course of ";lIllll De Kcys t~r's ,Irnsl k c;u·ccr ami its erili cll ll·eCCI)li on have heen un usual. Ha vin g hesitantly picked lip the brtl sl!. only 10 l)tll il down ngnin, De Ke ysl:r w rolt' fill' va r ious daily papers on art aud SI)OI"lS. II wu.~ only in 1965, at Ih e flge oI"thil·ly-l.hn'(', that he del'itl('rI to !ledi cill e himse lf Illl c 'l.~i ... c l y ttl jll1illlillg, 10 proressional earnesluess. As carly as 1967. two De I{t'),scr's Oell/lf'e,~ AI lirst gliUlt't:, hl' il PI)('ar's ICI elllploy t:OlIlple tt'ly difT('rcnt pi('lorilll pal'iltl igms in din'el'cllt groups of paintings w hidl , in rcl m spCI'I, also seem til i nnllcilee cach oLlwr, In onc sc ri e,~ Y('ars aner his lirsl ex hibition, he landed t hl' Jellne peil/(w-e bd!{e prize. In Ihis period De Keyser IVilS l ire arti st lIlay Ill" prim arily cmu:ern ed w ith the taclile (tlla ti ties or lhe paint , wh i le in iUlother it fl't'(IUClllly menUoned in lhe salllC IWt'il lh as lIoger l\l1vt~cl, wilh whom he somelimes worked and {~orWCI'IIS alt hough it WilS 10 b~ II lohS; lim<.> before he g,IVC lIJl his ulher professiona l acli \'ities. All the sam c, lhis '511 11(\IIY pHi llieI" immed iately dell1 0nst rated II ('xhilJilcd logCl ht'l'. Although the illliln el of Amer'ie1lu In tc-Mo dernist painLillg had from lhe begin l1ill l; lent Dc Keyser's work lUI idiosy ncnlli c chnra('te r, his t'olia lltlraliol l willi Raveel a nd lh e links Ilwdc h cl lV{~cn th eir work wou ld pu rs ue him rol' U IOllg tiule, pa rl iclIlilJ'ly in I\el giall ill'\ c l'ili cism . might he the i nvcstigal ion OrS]lil l iill illusiun that hilll , Ano t her series eClnC('ntl'il les OIl Ih e tctl si(1l1 betw een lhe fnrillal logi<' or t he (,OIllI)OSi lioll mid the clllhlcll wti c ]l0we l' or illlages w ith lig- IIl'lltive origi ns (Ih e chnlk lillC, 1111: 11I()1lkt'), IHlzzle Iree) IIw t have taken 011 li ves o l'lhcil" own I)\'t'r th e yc al's, Y('{ll1lul hel' gl'OIIP 01' IHt il1 t ili gs IIIlIy I'O(' IIS uHlht: t'o lour polenti nl of Illl' !l Hrrlodll'OrllC Thi s WilS ecrtflinly the elise throughou t the 1970s, ('VI' II th ough De Keyser had devel oped a highl y individu al id iom closel y r elutcd tn the principles stll'facc, Arid so Oil , 1111 Ii I or degre e of Irist ol'ielll disLnll('C c nllb les ns to rllllkc I:UlHleetioll S hctwcell o rille I' Hnd;unental and post-M.inimnl painlin g dominating the art sccnc of th e time. I l owever', Cllt lila I each indh'idual work form s pari or II g lobal research pl'ogriJmlllC wllil'h CII('Olnpasses De Keyser's work attracted new all cn tion i n the Oe Keyser 's en tire oellvre. Il owcn' !', i n t his I'csearch no fi xed , IIIcthodnlogiclI l mit'S are htid I!)80S, as painting w as being rcassesse d around lIw \1 orld, and agai n in ti le 199Os, w hen a new gt'IWn1tioll of artists attempted to i!wcstigatc and I'l'delin(' the statu s of Ule pict ori al image. For I\aoul Dc Keyser, the last twenty years or th e twt'lIlieUI eCli tury ha ve brought increased interna tiomd r'cellgn it ion, in th e rOl111 of an irnporlilnt l he dilTer ent ser ips 1Iml groups. It hl'collles aplWI'- down i n ad vance, Il si m ply st irmilntes 1111 illcxhil ust ible ]lrocess of t rial alld c rTOI ', I~i<' t oriill sl)l lIli tlils fmll l ('arl lcr WUI'ks c merge out of t he hlue and nrc U]llllied to diFfcrcnt problt'l11s which hll ve heen cxplored in ot her series. Ilc Kl'yst"r's IIl't istk dc\'cIOI)rllClit resemh les an or gan ic, vvnv('JI st ru <,tlll 'C with hardl y il diSC{' l'ni hl(' trlln~ 01' I'eguilirity. sulo t:x hi IJition in I\c m and Frankfult in 1991. Th e followin g year scvcral or his works were show n at !-Iis urtisLic genealogy hears rIO rellllioll 10 a linenr J)onuil ciltu IX, Si ncc then he has regularl y ex hi bited IlCII' 1\'OI'k at prominent galleries i n Antwerp, Jll'(J g l 'es~i()n, Th el't' is 110 SC Ii SC Ol'iI gua l. Allie icology co llnpses, Eve ry solution engend e rs ils own , lic r Hn, Mu ni ch, New York, Vi en nn nnd elsewhere, lIi s work has also been includcd in a numher' of n ew probl em s, Whill' ncw works cas t a ncw ligh l 011 thc old, each slHge or his devl'l 0plllent mil in willS its own id clllit y all tl va lid ity \\'i th o lll bllill g major intel'lHlU ona l cxhibit iolls whi ch IHlve exam ill('d t il(' stalus orpaillting in th e light of new dl'vt' lopments: 'As Lo ng as Jt Lasts' ('Vi IIC de With, KOllerdll lll , 1993), 'Del' Zerbrochenc Spiegel. Pusitionen ZlIl' i\'Ia lel'ei' ( Kun sthalle, Vi enrw, and I)eichtllrhal len, Halllburg, 1993), 'Unbound , Pussibi lil ies in Painting' ( Ha,ywa rd Caller)', Loudon, 1994) and Tl'Ou ble.SI>ot Painting (Mu IlKA, Antwe rp, 1999). And fi nally, this book llc(:om panies li n exh ibition tha t w ill ll'il vel to a !lumber or illnuen tiHI illst ilu tions in the U ni ted Statt's, It is remarknhl c lIlai De Keyser 's wOI'k ha s so ('ITort it'ssly sUI'vived the sliccessioll or i nterpretal ive mocl c ls for twenti eth-ce ntury pninlinl>!. On t he one 111In(l, hi s paintings have oOen dedm'ed t.h ei r li t'S wil h th e ('oll tex t OrCon lelllpOl'IIl'Y ilrt wlthoul siml)ly enpiLalizin g Oil fa shionable Lremls, On IIle suhOl'(linaled tu lir e IIext, inel' itllhl e IJlra se, It Is, thc r efore, cspeci ally difficliit In slot Ik Keyscr into t he linear teleology of, fol' instancc, Cle l1l {~lIt GI'cell ber g ami his rol lowers, w ho ulldC rs tUlld tI](' evol ution of Modenr ist pa inting as a progreSSi ve ess('ntia lizn t ion or lhc mcdiU lll, A S IlI'VI:Y oj' De Keyscr's \\ol'k nhliges liS to exdlililge th(' cl assic, Modcmist, li llcar ;rplwoirch to mol hislIIry for a vision in which (Iisconlinuity sel S Ihe tonc, I nstead or prngress one may speak or a rll11 ering t'lian ginp: of paradigms 01' the reversion In all t'a r1i cr phas(', F latness: American Modernism I f it is Iru (: t.hat l\aolilDe Keyser sl ips thl'Ough Ih e olh er hnnd, I)e Keyscr hus nH1I1aged 10 develop II nc t ur Ih e Ilnl:llr, CI'{'enhergilll1 cleveJ oj)nr c lll rellllU'kHble co nsisten cy, without re so rting to rcp t'li ti\'l' rOI'llllllns, Elsewh cl't" I Ilavc I'CrC rre(1 model, heca llse his work cleiU'ly dl'lllollslrat.es the to t hc ra(:t L1lal it is r<lr frolll easy t,o dassil'y diITkult y or I'{'dud ll !!; t ilt' IllC{J illtll nf pain ti ng 10 an 't',~senl'e" il is al so hard In iso la te his work fro m POSI -Will' AI II ('rit:ml Model'Jli sl jlllinling, All er all , I)e Keyser's artisl ic career hegan when the I':uropeanarl \\'01'](1 was heing illlrod1l('ed i.o su dl phenomena as Posi - Painterly Ahstraction, I-Inrd Edge, Shuped Ca ll vas, and POI) and MillilllHI Af t. AIl't~H d y in lhe cal'I)' 1900S val'ious European and even Ilelgian ci li es d l~dica l CII cx hih itions 10 Ame ri can I'()p Arl: Caleric Ileana So nll bend , Pal'i s, 1963 anti Ihe Sl edeli j k Muse um , AmSl erdam , 1061, Th e 1',llais des I~ e aux - AI' IB i n Brussels, which Iwd alrendy exhihi l.ed IVoI'k hy i\'lark I\Olhko in 1962 illHll'hilip Guslon and Fr ilnz Kline in 1963, orga n ized an exh ihi ti on of Hoberl RilliSc henherg's wO I'k mHI Oil Pop Arl and NeW Reali sm in 1965. III 1964 th e Musellill vonI' Schone KUllslen i n Ghenl Illllil chclllh (' ex ll i hilion ' ~'i g lll'ali e en 11cfigllrali e' (Figu l'ali on and I)cfigw·nlion) ill which work s hy the likeS or Hallsthellherg, I.icilt cllsleill, HOSe nqll ist and Warhol wen~ sholl'l1 alongside Ihe dilS~iCli lmod(' l'll s, AI the thil'(1 J)o('umen lll ill 1964, Pop Al'l WilS on ly a minor prese nce, bUI hy 1[)68 - nOl~ Ulll c ntf1 IV - thi s Illovt'men t, along wi th Culoul'-Fiel(ll'ainting and Minililill ism, flild eornc (Icsign ing r ell'ospeclive shows on IIrt isti(' ph enolllellil whi ch had alrcndy r caehed maturi ly 011 I.h e olh er side of Ih e Allanli c, Ih ey began 10 eX ilmirw art !"orms that were stil! in mid- now. ~:xhibiti ons like 'M ininwl AI'I' 01 Th e Ilogue i ll 1968 and 'Op Losse Sch rocvell. Sillialies en CrypIOSl.rUClllr('n' (Squat'c Pegs i ll Rou nd Holes. Sil lIo\!ons llnd Crypto-sll'uelllr'es) ill the Amslerdam Sl cdeli jk MuseuJtI in 1969 did not oller th e ilUdiencc iI r('trospeclive overview, but were in Ihemselves expl'ri menud iniLiati ves, New \\'o l'ks, ollen mad e espeda ll}· fo r these shows, 11'('r e pt"esenler! \0 the puhlic wilhi n ncw CXl libilioll modd... T he dcvclopl11Clll OrpOSI-w or American 111'1 di(1 11(11 silllply comprise 11 serics 01" success ivl' il l'listie JlIOVemen ts, bul was also coup led willi the rO l'll1<1 l ion of H crili ca l appa ralu s, whi ch developed II seJ'ies of" spccific paradi glll s I"or l hi s llew /H'l, Th(' id cas ofC lcmenl Crcenberg in pw'li eulal' WCI't' co nSi(ler'ahly in fluen l i .. L Gr cenber g had lil lie tillll' rol' th c expressive, lJ'agil' or exislenti alisl (iirnension o r Ahs tract Exprc.<lsion ism wh ich wa s t~S I )l'­ dally Ilighligh1ed by l ~ul'OpeaJl ill'l cl"i tieis lll . In 10 occu py a jll'OrllillCli1 posilion, Sevc l',1I GCI'IIHIIl al'li sts I'eill"led against l his 'l)nc unH'nW Am el'- much ol"his writing rrol11 lhc IU40S, '50S and '60s Greenherg louehed upon the i m portil Jlct' of fOI'l1HlI iellll,I', cII J'Hlerl hy JIlII Le(~ri n g wh u hll (1 hee n dil'ccl.OJ'o f111 e Villi Ahhc llll1 SeU!I1 in Ein dhovcn (IUulilics, such as the large 1"0 1'l11H IS, lilt" flllilless and Ih e all -over structure thai characterized lilt' sil1('l' Ig(i3. The V,1Il Ahh cmuscu m, which held lIn exhibi- IICW /\lIlcri CilIllirt. According to GrcenhCl'g, Mlldemist painting had reach ed i.ts apogee in the ill't of Jl1 ckso n Po ll ock and hi s eOlll cmporari Cs, Ilccau se Ihese arlisls hild l'inally acknowlecl ge(l the lil\vS of th ei r mediwn and had co nseq ucnlly cle\'()lopt"d 1111 lion or Haolllik I\('ysel"s wo rk ill 11)71, mid oi ller Dulch museums Iwd a major influence Oil the fle lg-illl1 reccpl ioll of" I\m eri can Mod erni SIll . T Ill: Dul ch llluseU IllS jlJ'ov idcf! Ihe 13e lgiiln al'1 world (lrt that had an ex plicitly self-reflexi ve {(imell sio ll. Greenbc rg, th e essence or Moder n ism IiI)' pre- (whi ch was sti ll st J'On gly rO("lIserl on Pal'is at the li me) w ith a I'dreshing view 01" a new art whi ch FO I" had Iit.1.le to do with aeadcmie l(lc/JisIIIC or l.h e di scipline to (;I'iti cize the di sci pline itself, Il ol in onlet' to subvert it, but in o rd er to enJ'i ch i t more Ilow-o utdated ~:cole (Ie Paris malicl'e art. Iksidcs pl'esenling Pop Al'l (f"OI' i nslan('c, Ih e Liehlensl ei n lind WIII·hol exh ihi ti ons III the Si r dc l ijk Mu seum, Amstenl(lOl, in 1967 ilnd 1968, I'especti vely) Duteh illUSeUIl1 S 1"0('lI s(:(1 co nsirl crahle lIt1 elH ioJl 011 Ih c latesl devc lo pm ents of the A mcl"i Clln ava nl-gllnle. lienee, i n Ih e (' x hi hiUol1 ' Vonn ell IIml k lelil" (SIWI)CS of Co lOll 1') 111. the Stedctijk Museulll in 1966, nol on ly WtlS Ih c rc lI'ul'lt by Barn el l Newma n, hili (llso hy the most iJllporlant rep resentati vcs 01" eise l)' 'ill th e use of eilal'ilclel'i sti(: rn eth ods of iI firrnl y i n il s areH ofcompc tc n ce.'! Posl- witr Am er ica n paintel's no l ongc r interpreted Ihe specific cll11I'a etel"isl ics of tlIe m edilllll - lh e flnl sllrfilee , the sha pe of Ihe su pporl, Ih e qualilics of th e pigmellt - il S limitations, but I'cgnnlcd lhem from Ihen on li S I)osilil'e lilctors, g.xactl y hy jeUisoning IllC i1 lusio nisl ic ambi1ions of traditi onal art , Mod- Posl- I'ain le l'l.y Abslraction ( 1 ~ II SII'()rlh I\ell y, AI Held, Morri s 1.0Ili s, Kellnelh i"/ol;-l nd) 1111d Mi ni- en l ist paio UlIg t houghl itself to be rull y fled ged and was Hbl e to resolutely alfirrll iLself liS an art of th e na l Sllrra (:e, ' He(:lI1 lse nUl I1CSS wa s IIl e only condition painting shilred wil li no othcl· ,JI'L, Mod- !TIlIlism (Fra llk Stellil alllt Donald Judd), ' In 1907 Ih e Van Ahhern uSC UIll also pl'escnted th esc new enliSI I)u illlin g oriClll eci itseJr to naln css as il di(1 to nothi ng else.'-; {Ievelopmcn ts anll, i n 1968, th e Gemeen1.clll ll sc lI lll in T he l-Ingne held a majo!' ex hihil ion of" Minimal Art \Vilh lh ese shows Ille muse u illS h ~ga l1 10 fo l low develupmenls 1ll0l'e dosel y. Instcml of" AI'ound 1960 Grcellherg's fo rmali sm no 10ngt' I' ser ved pu rel y as a ti1eorclicHJ scheme enabli ng al"I hislo l'ians to uilders11Ind lllod{:1"11 pa in lin g as 11 progressh'e uevelopnWJl l j it was al so 1.0 ser ve ilS a 12 ST I':V t N J /lC On S GALeRle DRI80Me f, li. 0 , ,, ... ,,,, .. ., ! ' , "lO\lIIlJO." WelTeRen "''in .. in ' ..., ~;,n"" d.,,'"''''-.'''''''''''' ''' Goo ... "",," •• ...... . 10 "", ... ,d ""0" " ...." "'"9 .~.... Io_g '.."'" '........... ,,'''''"''• •"""'". .....••','_B "... in.,,...... " ... "~in ,~ ''''" l it" woo' """~J' ..zoo., ""'"...... ~..... .it""" RAOUL oe HeYSeR .o. '0 .... ,., ...... , " .... ,;u .p'" " ,. " .." 101.,,"'0'_ .' ...., ....... AlJo •• I ..... '."'~ '" 1l ' . . ... n" ,,,'i. _"" •• ..",do. 10 Joo,~ I", ililll,," I " III<" nl,ih;I;,." " I (;,,1<-1'1," Iki,-;;; I",. Wl' I\,""". ,!16" f)("I "./;II ,, ~· Oil '''' (J)" ",.k" ,,/!), ""I\\' ;'~ . 1 1~ ;'I_(l~ ' l> x !1' ," " j.lllidili g pl'illci plc rot' cont emporary art pl'acti ce. of per(' eptioll and Ille c limilliltioll of all Ff'<lllk Stella's IJ/ack Series may, ror iIlstance, be irllcrprctcd 115 pninlll'llllslntcd illio 11 Greenberg. 1;m a xiolll . Although Stella's pa intings at first gl;IIKc seCllr to heill' l il li e relation 10 Pollock 's drippings, ror example, the cha ra cteristics of lie f>ide-eff ects. Un like pre-Will' Abstraction , it did AiJ stract Express ionis m as ontlined iJy GrcclliJcr g (large lorillats, nalness, all-over structure) are, in ra{:l , e l' il()ll l l z~ d by Stella, Thier r y de Duve lias already pOi nted out tbat 'Lhe black paintings woulel Inake Gree nberg's hiSl ori Cfll description prescriptiv e, c\'en nornHltive; Ihey would make Ill e minilllHI condilion ofnillness into a Illaxinw l olle ' . ~ The whole of Minim(llislll could in f(lct be SliIlUll,lri7,ed ilS an attempt to vi sualize Greenberg 's postulations, Dona ld Judd exchanged Lhe m edium of painting 10 1' what he cililcd hi s 'speci fi c oilj ect s', hecilu se he camc to t he eonclusion lha t painting Wllf>, by definition. honnd to spatial illusion, 7 And illu sion wa s c Xil cll y w hat M od el'llist paintill g had to avoid at all (:ost. Aller all , art was no lon ge r nllolVeello r efer to nn ylhillg thaI lay beyond its Oll'n boulldaries, ' What you .~ce is what you sec', postuJatccl no l nppeal in any sen se 10 II illu s i () ni ~ ­ hi gher, spil'illlni onlel' or- presenl ilsclr as a prototype 1"01' a new uLilililrian art. lust(' ad or i nwgillillg H utopiilll si1wltio n, these 'specific oiJjccts' shilled thcmselves into th e hwlitlity of 1h e everyday envil'Olllll('llt, whidllVilS being increasingly constructed ou t or inclustrial filill erllli s 11m! slll11dunli wd ullil S, Serial or II10duiar stru ctures, large ro rm al.~, eve n coloul' surraces also arise in POll Art , in which lhe M~ ell'Ille(lt.s are linked 10 rigul'alion. Il (l\\,ever, an utl compl ieal etl , Illim eli c corresponden ce wilh realily is rejected. Pop Art ililproaehes rcality in a roundahout way. Hefc l'cn ccs tn rcnJil y at"f' never of a na rralive Ilillu re. Ill steacJ of ileiltg Hne('c1ota I, th e ViSH,11 vo(;u!Julilry of !lflP Art is res olutel)' em blemati c. In sl ead of pOl'lI'ailS t.hl'l'l~ are icons. In st cad orobjccts there are 1heir l'cprodu cli(HIS, Instcad o rn Illliqu e ohject i n II spe(:ilic (:olll ext th ere are s(,rial prodlll'ts in an cmpl y lind nhstl'(let rl'"ll1l e, S te lla.~ Th e allcmptto address the fl atness of pain ling pnrll(lo x ically rc sulled in the rOr maliol1 of concrele , thl'ee-dimensionill, tangible objects which Painting in the Light of the New Vision l'ef('I'I'l'd only to th em sel ves, Geo metri(' silnplicilY IwCiwl(' completely subservient to th e directness II if> pl'f'ci~w l y 011 thi s gl'ollnd, ('Olllmo!l 10 boll! Millimillisrn 1111(1 Pop Art , Ihllt 1{,lOu!U!' Keyser lay Homeless Repres entation: E~· h;bll;"" AII""IYII",II (O"'''';''Il) , '!Jfl7 A",")'I;" allll, I;"I"·'''';II'' 1",;,,111" <'1"1\".<. "~, ,' al Kald,iM<',,"I' , (:IW"I. II)l:~ ,., ,, ("'" lilt> fOUlldltliU!ls of his OCWII"C dUl'iug Ihe rgUos. It goes withoul saying lhal lJe Keyser, like olher "llvec\ relat e(i marc to I~ rili s ilthillll() 1\lllcriClIll Pop Art, these ehlll'lleLeristics were suppressed in European artists sudl (I S I\oge r I\nv\:el, Ge rhut'{1 De Keyser's \Vol'le Emphatic IlIIiTillivt's or anec- KichLer dotal dimensions were curbeci by fragmenting III' U lridl IHickrielll, inleqll'cled Amcr!eHJI Modcl"Ilislll in his own wny, Tht' most obvious point ofdep:u'tul'e i(ll' I)e Keysel"s cady work is I'culily. Molifs from Vill'lOllS work s ofl.he Ig60S can he described as dose-ups oral! kimls ofolJjects: a Koger I\;r ved IJc Keyser had followed this IIltist's work wllile h e was still working ilS U joul'Illllist doorknob, a tap with iI g.. rd en hose, the (:or'l1er of 11 goal, 11 control slick , 11 pi ece or bill"bed wire or 11 and had also allcnded (I painting dllss given hy I\Hveel ill 1963. De Key~er was inspired by the 1V,ly I\aveel cOlll'l'onl ed lill lilJStl';I{'1 runtl like th e squar'c $locki ng on 11 washing line. All co inciden ces were lel\ ouL nndlhe pictllre sUlfaee WilS naUclll'd. \Vhel'(lthe paint in Vel/sler (/Vhlt/utll, 196,~) or f)Cl/t'!ifink (DuO/'lil/ub, Igti4-6s) has been ilpplied to so me al'cas wilh impasto, II few years later, partic- - which plilyed n crucial role i n Modern ist Il<Iillt ing (I'vlaleviC'h, Itod chc nko, Alhers, lkinhardl, Ryman) - wiLh the hanal wor\([ or 11 Fle mish village, Togeth er willi Havcel, Elienne Elias (lnd Reinier LU l'<ISSI:n, I\lIOul Ik Key~cl' rorl1lC(1 t he socllJleci Nieultlt: Visic, or New Vision. The pOI'l illld critic I\oland Joori s used lhis lel"l]) in the lllid1960~ 10 1ruli<:ale a specilk visll<11 vocnh ul<u'y c hal'(lclcl"i;:ed by II dear and colou lful atmosphere, MOI'eover, JOOrlS Doted lIotonly the linl, s with ulad y aJler he clHlnged to nCl')'Ii CS, the entire pi ctu re surface i5 painted cvenly, ChiaroscHI"Il is ex(:hanged ["or juxtaposed coloul' lields separ';lted hy aecentlliltcd black outlines. Flallening the l"onlls also sc rv ed to ubjeclify the illlilge, Tht' IWrlt! of llrl~ altisl (in the P.xpres~iorllst sense) hCI'e makes way ror' th e elllbl cll wi ie dire('w ess of tlw illlage, 1'(>11 dering the two-dimensionality oflhe piclLlre plant' J"£"lIlity, hilt also Ihe {~ .\jJlicil lendell{:y to ohjecliry this reillil y," '1'111' fOllr' ;rcqllil'cd considerable rllOl'e expl icit. Il is in this sense thai Ik Key.~t:I' {'Ol"responds mort'. 10 certain American examples IIwn renown wi lll 11)('11' Willi 1l1lilltings in II w ('c llar,~ of Beer'veldt' Cnstle (lg{i6-67) and wenl on 10 exhihi t together II Iluili her ()rlillle~ in tilt' yea l'~ therellncr'. he docs to Europea n ones. I)c Kcyser's eilrl.\' work conforilled pel'reclly to whal Clement Green berg Neverth eless, ntl.his time Dt' Keyser had already forged his own Mlisli(' identily. While the loose IJJ"lISIIWOI'k amlllncc\!otal approil('h i n Lll(' wor'k of lailcllc(1 'holll eless l'epl'cs(~nta!iOII'.'" Gl'ccnberg used this tcrm in 1962 to indicate his irrilnl.ioll wilh lhe figurative rcmnants ill the pail11ings or Willem De K(Joning ilJleI JiI~pel' Jolms, Like Jollns, 14 r I Il(m", ill AI {Jrld·,.eld mill'''' ill , lIlld d f."idd). 'fI6.I ....(i(; Oil "n r;u"'us. " ~i ~ /!o> ,'n, (" ,I",u' 1'1 ,,1<' 1'. " 1.1) (."""'1'1111' /I ('lAd ;" ul (:", ,,,)1111" SI("(l d j j ~ ('·"''''''·l'la[(· De Keyser collapsed the illlcrnflliogic of the fi gurative. Instead or making til e image /lcpcndcnt on l'calil y, i l wa s the VCI'Y Hulonomy or th e inw ge lhal hecilillc its major theme. Just as Johns avoided the pilralJ orillusion islll by representing objects thal were already l1al (nags, maps, shooling targets, numbers), Dc Keyse r' ollen chooses IltoLirs Stich ,IS windows. clwlk lines or lenl canvas, whic h ill a silllj](l r IVay !lroblelllolize lhe relation between image and referenl. Since Alberti lhe window has hee n a m etaphor for the [minting, lookiug oul 01110 realHy. It is striking 10 nole how tllis motif has slIrra('\ ~ d I'('peal eclly thro ughout th e twenti et.h ccntury (Iklilunay, Mnlisse, Magl'i Ue. Kelly, Genzken) . A(:("()t"(ling 10 Holnnd Jooris, howe ver, thi s metaphorical dimension is 01" litLle relevanee ill De K e~' sel"'s work: 'A ll he retain s of th e w il1(low is a rOllgh line t.hat ge ll erlltes unexpected spalial and plastie tensions.' '' Yet, \\ith Ihe aiel of the frmn c ('117 ' ). ,\I""."", I·","· A'·Il,,·I,· 1\",,,.,, (;t",,,. I '.~ ) This is even tnOI'C.:: cl eal'l y th e CH se wi t h tw o olh e.' motifs, wh ich appeal' mOl'e frequentl y latCI" Oil , nmncly the cltalk li Bes till <I fo othall pitch and t he canvas or<l teu!. Hoth motils 1Irc ex plicill,Y lH11o-l"t:n ex ivc; l)H intin g it~dl" is th eir suhJ ect. Comparabl e with th e wa y in which Johns de,llt wiLh hi s suhj cct s, Dc f\t~ysc r identifies th e fl at ('har,lcler ol" t he I"oolhall piLeil willi the two -dimel\sinnalily (If Ih e paintin g and I he dra w ing 01" th e dlalk lines is seen as Ih e execution 01" ,I pictori al 11(:1. Th e C{/II/pilli{ paintings ilrc Simpl y (:iH1 V,I S(-'S wi t h canvas us molil". Th cse, almost impressionist images al"e Ihus linked to a CI'Ct'llhcrg ian inlt-'I'est in the autollolllY 01" lhe pidori,ti sll lfaee. Ttw Ill o lil:~ are deta<:h cd I"l"olll l hl~i r illlUl e(liat e surroundin gs. It is al so striking thill the shi n.y I'olal'()i(] pal ellc or Pop Art li eI'(:: makes wa y for fn: sh whiles, greens and blll(·S wh ieJl never seem structure s of II w indow, a door or a goal, lhe painler points to the inherent spaliallogic of the g ari sh. Frolll tht' hegillning. [)t' Ke ysl'l" has shown v i,"tuli l ly 110 illlcl'('st in Ih e gIJwi ng icon s of con · SlimeI' t:ulturc, c vcn though Pop AI't \"Vii S undouht - pllinLing. De Keyser does not rej eellhe wi ndow melnphor; he uses it deliherately, hut lul"US it hack ed ly till illlporlllIll i nn ucll cc cnrl y in hi s C'U'c('r. I n an illl c rVjl~W in 1~)70 he tel ling ly rdel's not 10 on il seli". Th e wi ndow i s nol used to rcprcselll reality, but totransror m it and to subject it to \V,H'llOl or LidllenSlc ill, hul l o .Ii III !Jinc who, according 10 I)e Keyser, 'ill)(lve all painted ahout 1!IIL()II()InOlIS piCl oriilllow s. Til e Illctlllillor hecoilies mctonymy : instead of a view t hrou gh 10 nllother Ilim se! f. lie (I/lred to he IWIIPY wi t h his IJOl lle eu vi!'Onment and [olive with his painting s ahout wo rld t.he w in(low drl.lws lh e viewcr 's all cn tio n III the colour, tl w painl ,ltH] the support. dO!llesli(' slt hj e ('l.~."~ RAOUL DE KEYSER K UN STHALLE BERN I ,,"'II~", '1,Il4-<l11 011 ,,,' ",,,, ~.' ,"nl ".'....1, ·15 ' 71 .~ l-.1 "'" (; .. ",,,i"IU' ,'11"" '11111, Kn'~,'s Spaces Enveloped in Colour: De Key ser and Objeclhood Ily 197(1 it was clem' lo Piwl Vi'ie s thaI I\uu ul Dc Keyser' ,~~t' nH'd , in l ,'( )nlrast 10 oth er I'CjJl'('scnl.alives oftht' New Vision, 10 feel 'mCU't'lIt homc with New Ah sl nlclilll l,l nd Mi nimalism than "i lh Ncw Fisurlllion and 1'01) Ar'I',1\ I) l~ Keysl'r himself lllclltiolled Ihe i lllJlilclllwt AI Held had had on hi s lH'listic dc Yclopmerll. li e dt:st'rilwd his fit'st conl"nmlillioll witll Il eld's wnrk i l1lhl~ Slc/l t,' lijk IIlI'llnllull ,u Ih.. K",, ~'h1,1I,' Hl'n, "",'.""", ~II"", ('!llf') "illl 1)1I(~",r;(ph "r l x' I\~~s<·r'. s' ",I;" ,,, ,.... ,"" l" l'd b) 1'",,1 t\ullh""'ht ""d I Wdl'll~l'" , ln '1111' Thc Jllycrcd naLure orne Kcysc l"S pni litin gs conll'ibilies Illl'geJy 10 Ul eir sense of SPII(,I>., Sometim cs II Ihick, opaque layer of painl sho w s Ih l' painting as II concr ete and lac til e oiljcl'l; 1I1Ic 1'II1Il i Ye ly the ulH.lc l'lyi ng layers 01" ('oloHl' seep Ihl'Ough Lhe pair)! skin. Ilul neither i nsl ance en la ils <I Il"Hdi l ional , peJ'specli ya l illusion. The absence of a suggestion of deplh was rl eal' in his conll"ihution 1.0 I.he Fleervelde Castle 1)l"ojecl . In conlnl sL In lhc colourful processioll of IiglJratiye illla ges in Iln YecJ, I .llcasse ll or Elias, De l\ eysc l' li ll li le(1 l"II1SCIllII , 1\lll slcJ'd llmlls 'II compl etel y astu nishing eXjleJ'it'J1('t:'." In Ih e litl e of an early pninlillg, De ltimseJrl,o th e posiliouiltg 01" iI gard c n Ilosc ill n ' lalion 10 plancs orcololl r. The alllhropo('enlril,' nnd KCYSI'I' 1't'll,' J'S c"'jllidUy 10 th is Ameri c an l)ailltel". IJlI/'{J/J ill AI l/rid-veld (Hamil ill I II IJdll Held, IralLscc ndenlalu ssoci ations in th e work of Ra ved ilrc J"Cptaced i n Dc Kcyser' wiLh a IIH)rc il il't'('1 196-.. -66) shows a combinalillli of ligurative clemenlS lind absl l"ad colou l' planes rcmin iscent of ("on fl'Ol11 11 liol1 wilh II givcn siluation. In :t si lls le, gr and gest ur(>, wall s, ceilings, comers, doors, Ka Yeel. Anot.hcl" aspect related 10 KIlvt'cI is th c di f - pipes and switches ar e I)aintcd l1illly, 'Whul I'emains ofdeplh ', wrote l\olaJl(1 Jooris in 11 fcrent ways lite jlainL has hecnlliJndlcd ,' t he image Lhe clo g is 1101 so mu ch ili legra l f'd illill th e painlin g as placed olliup ol'lhe (~omt>osilion, or Ulrich I.oock l mel Ka ~ p er " ilni g ri glilly not eti llllll Ihe laye l'ed nallll'C of De Keyser's lalCI" wor k was fllI'cndy p rCSCll 1 ill lhis p<linl ing,'1 De l\cyscI"'s wor k is ill(l(~ cd 10 a largc eden l ch;tI'lu.:leri:t.cd by iI cCI1,I iJl s ll'<ll ilk a tion and th e IIH'ut ioll of two da les aner lhe titl e III' Ihis work patently indi(:;lles Ihe It'mpol"Ill d imen sion , Li ke mall)' lal('1" w lJrks Lhis painlillg is c'H!nposed or Yal'iolls layt' rs. desel'iplive pocm Oil th e ccHll1' 1l1111'ai A of Hcc r velcl e Cast le, ' is elwelopccl in colou r."" In U 1'lIl1U!1' uniqu e udllplllti o n ol"hl s I lIll g Ull gt~ to thaI Clf ul'chit ecttu'c, De Keyser"s conlribulion 10 lhl' Ht:e /'\,eldc pl'Oject also 1)lUvitied t'\'i(lcll t:e Ill" his inc/'eilsing i nll'reSI in Lhc spatial il111)lielLlinlis of his work, Tht'I'c is undoubtedly II ('ol'l'ela1ion bel ween Ihe d isappear'an cc of int ernal Spare as a I"l'sull of l hc natleni ng of tht' im age li nd the in crcil sc(1 tlllpOl'tunce of Lhe relation In' tween t ht' < ill. P. l()o1 16 , .. -' Vi"", "r Ihf ~,h i hlll"" '(;uill""me Ilij!. l.iIi I)"j""";'" 1m> V'·'~"·lIY~.,,'. 1t"""II'" Kt·l"~~r·. Ii "n~llo;oll" Ikrn (,(JIll;), .<h""'I,,.,: 'ffY"m,rt,'I" {I"llIIr,/ ('07" ) ,,,,II '!!"'I(u/" (I~ I -I!-~) ilL p,15 pai nting umllhe exhibition space. ny " lIowing the pai nting 10 now O\'c l'the edge of the fl"alllC, liS ill UlIlitlrli (1964-66), the pai nting momirests ilself as nn object made 1'1'0111 wood, canvi'lS and paint. By resolutely dctach..i ng the picture 1)lane from ('!I1.;1,!~). they are leaning aglli nst th(: w all ()f sl idillg along i t wi th obsti nate intlilTerence.'1 7 Robh l"t!('ht alTi ved Ht this insight nn cr a "isit tn tlit' aI'l ist's studi o, w here Iw had noticed hnw De Keyse r pi<-kcd up nilkmll ill l)e Kcyscl"s lalcr work. JUSl as Frank Slt' lIi! ('otn plI l'cd lhe spaces between his puin tin gs, va ri ous Iwinlings and hu ng tltem 1)11 lltt' Willi, how h e 1)laeed (JII(' olcl el' work ilmiclst SO l l ie unl1nlslted paintings, th cn eO llstlln tly re; II T/ln g(~( IIII Cl rl unlil finl1lly tllrn ing the olde r work ill'ou n(\ to ra ce Ih e w(l ii. This i!l1lllc(lilltcJy pJ"tlvidccl Robbrcdll with as thc pJ'emise foJ' h is design fo r the r{'nnl'lltiol1 or tht: wnll, the relation hetween the two clemen ts bl'('ollles 111 01'1:: impOI'Lilrlt. Thi s aspect i s also slg- tlH'}' hung side by side, with in lCl'vaJs in 11 pieec nl' music', in Ue Keyser Ihere Iltises II pnrlie lllnl' Dc Keyser's st udio in 1991, The interi or wns givcn lensiou between w,11I and can vas, and bctwccu <l Ihc p'l in l iugs t hemselves - an cffect t ha t was CO II \'i nein gly prese nt in all cxhihilion of somc of his wUl'k t'rcllll t ht! t!arty 19705 illld '80s il t I.he Kunsl IliIlI,' ill Berll ill 1086, The fll'('hi tcct Paul Rohhl'cehl clearly stood out. The delachment lilt' picturc p lane frOlll l he wa ll was rurthcrmon' lIc{'l'l1Iuult'd by a bOHrd wilh a snwll gl"llove whidl lIot only woodcn wai lls<:ot against which the Ilailltillgs or - whu (I('signed spaces ill which II number of I)e t\eyser's works were pr esenlcd at ' Illil ialief '8(3' made it possi ble to co nstantl y re,II'1'<1 ngc tlU' OI'tIN ol'thc pa illi ings, it Illso amJ"ll I('d euell plli llti ng's autonOJl1Y as un objt'(,t. IH (Gh!'llt) lind DoclIlll en ta IX - arli('u laled Ihi s slr'iki ngty: ' Il is paintings w il l ncvel' becomc part of Lhe I)it-turc's lendcn('y to SOIll l't hing else. They seem to me to be crystalliziI- This separHlionllfpit't lll'C pla ne alld wallllnd be('oml~ 1H1 autolloUillU S pictOl'inl object had alrX'H cl y heen brutlght to a l ogl<.'al cnnclusion at t he iJegi nn ing (If De Keyser 's lilll lS, ('OIll I)l'eSSeu materials given extr'a defin ilion hy Iht' sometimes lirnited d i rn ensions of th e pai nt- artistic ('aret:r. UctwCeJI 1966 and 1971 IH: Illade 11 ing, Some or Il ls WOI'k5 are li ke tc mpornry de lill c.ltiuns of end less su r faces or fragmen ts plucked i'1'01ll lin endlessly aci va rH'illg li neo l' sLnr cltu'c., Then:, is <llso som elLJing i n his pailliings whiclr series or seve n Iln c n boxes, cad i t:lllllpri si llg 11 wo odcn ['!"allle on which canvas WilS st ret ched ilnrl PU; ll lcd. Whil e th o )i l'sl li n eIl IJllx(, ,~ 1l00'l' Ih e liullil inr IiI;!:UJ'Illive elemt:nl s of a garden hOM' (II' II PI'l'V('llI~ Ihelll from hecomin g win dows which Iweak IIJl n wall, Inste(ld yo u hnve Ihe feeling tha t La po !>il iOiI tlf 11t!"!;l'r auionolllotl!> arcas 01" {'olotll' cloud, Ihe lail'l' (II rl'S ('O ll si.~ t e d pl'inral'ily ofll j ll x- .--...--" ...-... . .-......,---..... .. -._ _ '. _-----. ._--..- ........... _.... - .. .... ,.'''.. ..... _ "....... ..... ,..........-.'........ _ , ... .... .• .............. .. .~ , ..... ~ ~- -,. ..-~ ............. ........ .. ,,_...- . - IlI vltullo"l" Ih" Gr,," itlll"" MII ~C IIII\ ~~ Io j h i li,, " ( I!J7"1 wllh jli~'ILII'~ or Slir" 11/ (.otlIl) I, e", or III<' ,'~hl bil l"" nl n ot· C; " ,nlng"" M II.iII"II"t ( ' U1" ), .• h" "' I ,,~ l.illm ~!I!I SlIfY./",,,,,M('I'IJr I /1,,,. III. ,I"" di'IImlt 1A'.r . (}(:rrr. ,'Umdbmm •.'iJlrrlll wh ich s pl't:ad unJUnd Ihe s id c ~ or llw ho x. Yel like somc of Unll Flavin's N t'OIlS, I\ri cc Murden's these Ill'eus of co lOll i' coultl still be It'HCcci back 10 Back Painlings or' works by Do nald Judd Or CHI'I ~ Andre, lIrcsc litlcn boxes m'e slighlly smallcr litl1n alld thercrorc manage able by the human body, mimt:lit: OI'i gill . The mere li llt! (If a \\'o l'k like Call/pillg V ( 1971), whose conloUl'S were lil ke n from Campi llg II (1969), n~llljl\d s the viewer of the fomilia r len I Ul otif. The C" CII appl icalion of lhe pllinl in the linc n bo.\:cs lllil kt'S it clear lha l nol only arc lhe l)igrn c tll and Clt1tVaS fu sed into II si ngh! ('nlil y, llie rfl nn anel eOllll' nl 111I v~ t'tlt cl'ccl inlo it din-ere nt relation with cach othcr, Th ese work s no longer cxdllsivcly I't / (I/' to II tent 1IS II three·dlltlcll siullai cOtlSlnlcliun or sla ls and eanvll s, Ihcy (Ire II l.enll.Qo, The villihl(' (:ulS ilnd slild lcs alld the ilclclilioll or lh e eyt' lel in one of IIw (,'ortlt!rs ("olilr ihutes to lhi s en-ct'!. Thi s tran sforms the pa inting into it fulty. nedgcd ohjcc t which aSSCt1s its II\VII presence in Ihe exhibition spacc, The IIpcctHtor is obliged 10 wal k around th e \\O!'k in order to vi ew it All thi s has lilli c to do with Ihe inCllrpOt'lItioll(lr clltl('rele ohjct'ls inloll p1lit1ling, like Ihe 'COlli hine paintingll' of lIollerl l\ulIst'llell ' berg til' t'ertain wo r ks hy lIavcc!. ~: Vt' ll Illtlu gh t'e I'laitl cri li cs dail11ed 10 be able 10 Irm:e r efel" Cil l'CS 10 I'op Atl In the linen hoxt's, Iheir sl>aliality anil tangihili ly hrings them closl't' lo the specilic objct'ts of ""·lit1i t11i1 I ism .·~ Not on ly does Ihc arlis t show 11 pl'c fc rc llt'e for repeatin g Illorc or ICSII lhc slImt' volutlle, tilc scale "I' the lin en boxes ill al so coltlparahle wH11 many Minillmlisl work s.·.. .Jus t which could easily 'gel Ihe be tter of tltc m '. Tony SmUh's falllOUS qu esliotl-and·.ans wc r session abollt IJif', his steel cubes from r96:1, could also be applied 10 De Kcyser 's boxe s: 0: Wh y dldn 'l YOll make it larger so ttwt it would loom over lhe ob5erver? ,\: J WIIS nol ll10king 11 mOrHlnH! 1I1. 0: Theil wh y didn'l you make it smuller so lital Ihc obsc rvcl' conlel see it over' lhe top? A: I was not making an obj ccl. ~· AHhou gh lhe linen boxes, wi t h a maximulIl heigh t or one metre und 11 Illtl f, efforUc ssly cngage in II physical confrontation with t.he viewcr, Ihey still 1001, visllully viabl e. Like t l1(' 'sli('es' of th e sarm' I)criod, th eir pi ctorial origins a r'e not denic(1. These 'sli ef' s' ar'e snwll upri ght strett'ilCr's with can vas whi ch, due 10 th e ir' size (120 x 25 em), c,m h e in lcrprctcd as s ur fa ces lila t have becn CIII fl'Olll one of the lineH boxes, OrigiJ11IIly Ilail1led i n oi.1 and latcr in Ilcrylic, these canvases displllY an evolution of s tyle simil ar 10 lhe Ii.nen boxes. Ilcre IIlo a ' h o rHe[t~ss rept'csentnti on' gr'ndulllly ItInkes way fot' Hutonom ous Ill'CIIII of COIOlll', This ll utonom y is < iII,p,8 18 sn;n;N JACO II S I ,...II,<.I/wrk (f:"mr,'). 'lt7fl' ~li~\·tI ",,·,1111 '''' I!"a ~: elmll;. lin,'o (;I ''''''''IU'r \Iu,.... ,,,,, lI,mlen {~ ~) '" , l1!' cn , Ih",.< fll IIIIIII.,dll'l' IIWI ",1,bo'I!'"lk (II,,!, lIIull,,,,,,I,<lYIIII' ".011 /lu/)b(,. (;/111111), '\(' I')'II!- nod ,11'1""";"" 1",;,,1 '"' rurtll crmu,'C ,'cl nrOl'ccd through the w(wk hein g which Ihe artisl used his own work, in Ihis {'asl' plaecd on the noor, leaning agol in st the wall. Thi s the linen 1101 ot1 I~' t'omplctcly 1I11d e rlll i n ('~ any 'window dTect', it also se .. ks iJ correspondcllce with the piCl'CS. U kl' othc r ha nal obje('ls UIl'Y aI't' c nl arged, \:roPI>ed 1I11d linally r cdm :cd to !lat i ll11lge ell:- Mi uimall st pr"ctice in which the surface (rul' instance, in Judd 01' Andre) frc<llIcnlly aclivalcs (In m ellis, KairiCIl Ilehhelin tk lIcclIl'atcly ohserved Ihal 'lhe box bC{'(lIl1CS II lllq;c Sllrraee whith SHCI'iri ces ils Ihn:c- cliIlWllsinnal dwra clc r IU !Jeeomc n lIlllI suul reJutioll hclweclJ thc WOrk of nI'l lind the flour 01' wall. The way these 'slicc~' were pre- sClI1('d WIIS wid e ly used by ,I rl ists in the I!)GoS and '70S, including John i\kCl'ackell and !\'Inrlhc Wery. Although D{' Keyser only employed thi s method of ill,p,29 tat.394 ',!;7 ,·"",';,s. ",~, , "~ " ~II' bo ,~e.s alUl sl ices, itS IIwLils for new painling once "gaill ',~2 l'ilinUngs, rillt'n boxes alltl sli c('S al'(" nil PIII 'I of a single, lal'gcr, ('ohcren l whole, A(,("'OI'fling to Bart tie Baen', 'the oPPosition o flh t> two- antllhrc('-d imc nsinnal iIY urlhe painl- exhibiting h is wOl'k for a shOl'l time, liS is DIJparc nt iJ1g is ral.<;e, from Pau l HolJbl'ccht's comments ilhove, one may rt'ganl it as paradigmatic lOr his entire oeuvre, By \'lIlphasizing the edges of his pilinlin gs, fOl' sides (wilh Ihe bo xes (IS the 111051 eslrelllc \' x<lmp le. ill Clo(;fllII'd (7i'llIllP, 1978) 01' %evclI VOI!" Jt'tll/tl e 7 (Seven/or Jetllllle 7, IgSa), I k Keysel' CO Il nI 'm.~ I he ohject- hased Cllill'ilcl cl' of Ih e pi Clol'iul Si lifill't', T hi s iucr eilse in Ih e au lonol11ous nah u'c of Ih e p<lintings "mllh e ;wknowledgement of their objccthood is d lre ct l)' rela ted to their hlCl'cflsing distilll(,,'C frOI11 vis u.llly percept i ble reillity. In his e al'li~ s t w UJ'ks, in lill e with I\aveel, the rcdlscovery of images ofd<lily reality was percei ved liS a l'l,rrcshing liheJ'lllion , bill rl'OI11 Ihe 1970S on he i ntroduces il i11l0 Ihe logic of th e l)<lintin g only indireclly, Th is wa s Illl'eHdy !1IJparc lil in Ihe sooflhe tale I96oS, in l"llIed Of'/t'IIil/gclI (E..l;erci$ /]$) II simpliliccll ioll . Tilt" Lreatment Ilr the example) is notml al'ti1icial intc r vl'HlitJrl /lim ed nt l'c(,'ol1ciling IIH' two clHlI'aelerisl it"s, it is obviously conseq ll\:l ll'C of I he llWlltal l1 cecpta n('e or Ihe Illill et'in li ly or pai nl nncl Cnn lllls.'!1 I !o wcvt' l', dUl'i ng iI Ihe 1 970.~, nl' l\cysl'l" cl ea lt differen l ly wllh the ()sci lJatiOiI helwee nlhl: logic of tilt' nal [lilinlings ami the logk of 11i(' ('OII('I'el(: nhjed . 111 Ilu' smnc wa y and IIllIlI' Silille limC' thal.llc illwge fwd ohject <:ollllel'gell ill the linc n hoxes or the Camping scri e!;, lhe ch,, !k li nes nn 11 foOl ball pilch beca m c t'spedully identifie{l wil h the Iwo-dinu:nsionalil)' o rthe puinting, Just as a gl"Ouncl sl1HIIl lI',1I1sfonll s /I lnwil illio a f()o lbnll pitt' h, so too was lJe Keyser 10 transrorm a (,',1111111S in In II paintin g, Th e (' hul k-lin t! lllotH· \\a .~ nol only the 11I0si ill1])ol'Im11 molir ill his wtlrk in the 1970S, it wOIIl<l also 1I,,~k ((:"nl(r). ' D7'l Ac,-yli,' ,,,,t! t!i.~J){,I'lII()n ,~Ii('f'- I,"""I."YII'" I , pnln! ,>I) ':'''1Y''~, 177 ~ 'jII",n 'Oi" '\'"1')'11<' a,"1 '1i~II<'r.ljon 1';,1,,1 "" ~;"" ;", I!\,' ~ ''''' , 'Ill fi-cquentl y I'C SUrf,H,:e in lalcl' wurk, In li lCI, Ihis molif too wou ld go on til lead a life of its own lind it rHpidl y hC(:/lnlc dCIII' that ilwus 1101 so mu ch th e roolball pilch as eildicr pidol'iil l trans lntions tilal jll'Ovidcd Ihe 1)lIsic rorms for latcr work , De Keyser 's work from thIs period Clln be UnC(l uivocally I.i.nked 1.0 thc so-call ed Fundamental Pai nti ng Utili WIIS promincnt in th e 111'1 wo rld at th e Lime. Thr'o ugh the ascetie and systemati c rcscill'ch of FUlldamc ntal Painting, the di scipline heCllllle redw.:ed 10.111 analysi s of all th e paramcter'S thal l>lilY a part in Ih e milking of a p"irll- Correct ions: Fundamental Research 1970-80 ing: sca le, proportion, colou r, linc, form , tex llll'c , th e mate ria l (IUalit ies of paint and suppo rt , and The chalk li n e expanded into an auto no mOlls m et hod, The prefel'ellce for working in series is a featurc clearl y shared hy De Key ser 's wOI'k frotn compo!'itioll1l1 clement which IVII!' (;01l 5tll11 11y modified aJl(Jllll'Ough which all k i nds of pictorial pus- thi s [>eriod and the Fundam ental Painters. This sibilities wc,'c explorecl, In Krijllwek '90 (C/wlk G'Qf'fIel' ,'}o, 1977) th e line \\'ilS applied i n chillk procerlut'C enil llics the l>IIinter th oroughly 10 (JI'C!" th e iHlIll-(t', while in I(rijllijl/.II (elwlh: Lille fI , 1977) it is eml)l'{lded ill betwecn Ihe col(Jur plullcs. In Krijlf/O~kcu/,I'et:lit' (Clwlh' Lillt' Cu,.,.e(:lioll , J978) Ihe lines are over-paiul e£! to th(' ptlint Ihat they bc(:omc tllll'p('ognbwhl c, In De 7.ml(lvlo (The Sa ud Plea, 197fi), t he whilc lineS clead y C{l v('r Olhc r paint layers ,HId contribut e 10 the o vel'all e n·eel. In fI nllll"1ll ill l\nI Wc rp's AClldc lIlisch Zic kc l1hl.l is (197g-&l) tht~y rellll"!l in aU their' vigour to their original scale. The chal k-l ine motif 11 1.0;0 provided incen ti ve for a rcneeliull on th e aelS of dJ'Hwing ntHl paililing. [II the 1970S I his atlcnliol1 til the llielOJ'iallranslatiOIl or I>er('ei\'cd n'lllity mad c \l'ay for all interest in the mall·dal and pl'tJecss eonditiolls uJ" painting, < ill. " .2O explor e a basic fnet. Ilowever, Roland Jooris renUlrked lhlll, olthough a specific common fact or can be rcferred 10 in fl cel'tain seri es, Dc Keyse r 's WOrk nevcr e ntailed a s),sl.c nHltjc, gradllal or com posit ional cohc J'encc. Each wO J'k maintains ils own c haracte r and ne ve r becomes dependen l Oil gJ'catel' wholc) ' Dc Keyser docs not 1>11111 IIII' pa inti ngs i n adva nce - Iht' pai nlings allest to iI it ri ll c oflhought developin g tllI'o ughoul th e ('I'ClI tio ll jll'Occss. This aspect ofLhe work; which parliell larly uPI>li es 10 Dc Keyser's work from tlw J97(JS, wa s h igh lightcd by critics in the dccHdes that 1'01lowell, Hence, 8m'l ClIssi man r cfel'l'ed to ' lJc Keyser 's non-systematic and non-foJ'llwlislllui ilrde, and hi s consci ous J"cjcclioll of IIlln lyti t'ill in vestigatio n', while liart de Bacre r'cl1llU'ke<l that < ill,," ,23 20 k''''Y.I!17' A"I)'I;, ' ,,,,,I ,lisp,"'s;p" pain, o n ,"anl',"S, ST IWEN JACOUS '9<' -"5-' "m 1\1'ijI/W(!' "'" (Oudk (:",.,., '1' '9<';' 11/77. '!I" , 'Y SI("(I,-iijk \1 ....,,",,,,, "0"" ,\ <:,"..1," !(""SI. Ch,'''' Midd~"/ii" ((;"un' !-it"'). '1.I7' - i' A.<'Tylk ~"d diSI)<'rs;"" pn;n, 0" '-i" ,va.<. 1., )".\ OJo ' th e 31'1 of De Keyser canHot he formali stic hecause it is essentially iI-systematic',!i Indeed, !ll cre Is bltl'cly a trace oflhe sysLcnwli c, Hlllllytical and sell~l'cncxive aLLitude of, for instance, the Su ppurllSurface group in De Keyse r's work. Ulrich Loock observed thal in Dc Ke yse r's wo r k, III co nlms t 10 thai offamollS eOlllClllpOl'rtri es (Rymnn, Richter, Po Ike, Marden), Ulere is no ,'ad ieol or progrilllHllllti c isolutloll of certain constituent elements or the medium .!6 A series uf paintings by D e Ke yser is orten no more tlwn a group uf work s sharing a certain alTinily, bUl which al'e newr charnctcriz ecl hy sel'i al feat ures. Thi s COllllnellt could even be applied lo his 'Mi nimal ' or ' Flindamen\lll' period in the 1970S UIl (1 makes his work less didilctic: it i s neve r pedant je, IlC(:iluse it always r emai ns an exercise. For De Keyscr il is th e prOcess of paillting ilselfthllt is > ill. p.22 "II' painting as a progressive (:'ssenti ll li%lltion of the medium in lerill s of au i mpl"Oviug re sponse 10 Ihe CilJ[ for naliless of" Ih e pic\nrial sllrfaee. Strilll gely enough , throll ghoutlhe entil'e body of Gree llberg's w t"it i ngs, th ere is lillie evidc ll l'e Ilf(lll i ll te l'esl ill texture or in the malerial process of paintin g. All luieresl ill tht-' pi{"\Orilll JlrO('l~sS remained ahscnt from Grcenberg's discourse because it was bascd upon th t: IlSSlIlllpLioll of 11 pt'lft:Gt co rrclll liOll hetwee u Iht: ilrlisl's inlentious il1](llhe tiual w o rk .'!~ But IJt~ Keyser's work shows nil trllce of sueh 11 ("oITelatioll. Hi s pninlings ('(lI II1Ot, by dcfini!.i on, be pred etcrm i ned. Il csitalioll , ()vt~ qJ:li nt ing and c rll sur'e forlll the husis of his w/)l"k, nol a mcntal cu uGe pl. I li s pilintillgs eallllot be etlll ceived. It is as if" De l{eyse r has, ill IIw words or the poet l\ollllld Joo ri s, '~ Illu se{l UI)(lII them" for (\;IYS ill h is silldio .. .' .-~' De Keyser h illl sell"wl"Ote in lhe enrly 1970s that his paintings '('onlain ill most everythillg 01" doubl, 01" i!lvestigali(m .. .. Tlwy havc Lo preservc t he re stra iul and in collq)letelless of important. I have IlI"evious!y r emarked that for De I{eyser his wOI'k eme rg es Ihl'Ough his mistakcs, thl"Ough the u nexpe{~l ed eITecls elicited lly ti le cr eat ion process ,uul by the pl'osaic battlc with the inerLia of the materiai. 27 Bolh ilt the Icvel of I he notebook.'''' The importa!lcc or hesitntions and mislakes the indi vidual painLilig and i ll hi s oeuvre as a appelll"s expli ci tl y in Ihe wh ole, De' Keyser's c reulivily springs from l he practicnl confro ntation wi lh the Illat eria i lllcan s uf series or 1977--78. I II Ihe piece 1(l"ijlll(II::/worl"ec/ie ( 1978), rTWlltiuncd ahl/ve, tIl{' uriginu l illlag(' disappears heh ind II thick cloud of pow c ri"ul hl'usll- the lllediuill itself. This 100 makes it much hnrder to slol him ililo il Cn!I!I111ergiltll, l luenr teleology, which understands Ule evo lution of Mod em isI (;()"I"eclie.~ (C()f·rt~CIi()lls) !ilmkes rcmil1is(~enl 01" Roherl 11)'11111 11 . Va l"i ous VC I'sions ofC()/"/"t::clie ( 1977) t~voke hOlh the scnsual - IIA00JI. 1m Iml'Slm l! ~ ,)',-.HPl 'k·"'"<II', ..... ~, ~ ;J,.,. 1".11n[lon ,n III.. " xhlhillnn nl Ih" 1'",.i",'ln,,1 'kllli nhur. lIa ~5t'1I {19m ~h" ... lnJl M;i/i/mlijlt (' 117.)1 Vj~·", "rill<' nhillili.." at ''IH.• · K"" ,. <;1..." , (' D1.1) , ('117' ) III Iii,· rnn'_n",,,<1 ~hH ... ill.llIllklii" rtlllI'N' 1I", ..utll I'cfillc mClI1 and the i lll])crfcct geometry of I\obert Mlll1gold. Sometimes 11 right angle engages in an (']<,gllut tension wit h Ollil of the cor'ners of the streicher. SOITlCLiIIl CS a pi ece 0[" call ViiS from an ori gilll1l1y Im"gel' l :om!'osili OIl is trun s po ~ t' d to n s ll (~ h as Clocflllrd (1978) Illso display traces of mis((lkes and corr ections. sm aller rOl'llla L Works The genesis orill is wOI'k is typical of De Keyser's working methods. Cloclumi origiJlally le d II life as BelldtjUfI (1977) and wns iIlusll'alec! in thi s form , in n qu estionabl e mann c." in 11 catalogue jlllhiished by Ih e Ghent M useum VU Il Il cdcndangsc Kun st. 11 Probably as 11 resu lt of lhe image havi ng been hmlly croPIJed, wedge shllpes w~re inscI1cd oro und the e dges. De Keyser decided 10 make II 'copy' of th is suhstandll rd rcproduction. To do this, the originlll paintill g WilS removcd frO Ill its frame ami aUlt ched onto another onc, two ce ntlme l" cs lailer and wi der. Thl'Ough this surgicol in l.cl'ventioll nut on ly could Ihe wedges be added 10 lhe work, hut pieL'es of ho re convas IIlso beclIllle v i si hl t~, Thl'Ough the emphasis on Ihe edges, the pOinting, which had pl'cviously refe rred to the IiIl CIl iloxes a lld sli ces, 1l0W acquired new COIlI,e lll. V\,ith its frayed edges Clocha ni, moreover, re ferred to its lille, and by CUlling a piece ou t of lhe ca nvas Dc Keyser reveal ed the stretche r. Ulrich Loock oncc remarked that because the edge and support have bccn cxplicitly pushed to the fore, Ih is 1)lIinting can 110 10ngcI' unpro ble malirnlly COnfO l'lll 10 Modernist aulono m y. 'il De Keyser shows Ihat his images both unfold within the ir U W II rcality onel arc part or the \\'ol'ld . Hesitatio n, mistak es alld correcli olls are not plll't of" a sysie millil' paUern bul are oilly used ill ol'del' to ex pl ore IWW possibi litics, They do nOI imply thaI the arUst is morc or less content w ith the result. N ()I' do U H~y mean that each work comes abolllllll'ough grelll effort or VC I)' slowly. 0 11 the contrm)" somc pi(~ces Me mudc very (Iuick ly, The rvle played by hesi tati on , til e mnklng ormislllkes, (:o l"l'cCll oII S, ad jll slmen ts, covering up, erft sing nn d overlapping in De Keyse r's work hil S formed Ihe basis of a lext wri HCu by Wim VillI Mulders in IgBo in reSI)onSe to an exhibition at the [ntel1lationaal Cu ltU red Centrum (ICC) in Antwerp. He remarked thaI , 'M istakes (ore [h erc any decis lon s in this work that arc ilTelevant hecau se ea ch "movement " functions In the long run ?) IlIld hesitations MC not obscurc d , as wilh mosi pa in ters, bu t on the contrll ry aC<IUi" e an inte nlional (llIlllity.'11 De Kcyse ,"s paintings frOIll these years are dcscribed ,IS p/'()hlems with no uIH11 solutions, whi ch go as fill' as til I'efc!' 10 th e pleasure of the impasse . The <lIllitOl', lll orcovc ,', refc rs to the imp0l'tance of the nl'tis\'s 'handwriting', while obscrving Ulallhc gougedope n, vneillating, ohstinate and unseltled slll'faces may be sensitive but lire not emotional. ' De Kcyst!1' <: ill. p.211 22 (:,moe../;,. 011,", ('-"""""1"/;1110, '!In STEVf:N JACOIIS D,,-'1'rlie (O"'"!'!'/;()II), '917 Oil "" 1·"'lI'lI~. ~ X ~l \ '111 '"aI""l'. i i ' 75,'111 Ilrnl,·,·lm·A". Oil ,," i~ not ,Ill Expressionist', stotes Van Mulders. The artist's struggle with the formal Hmlmaterial aspects of painting indeed dem onstrates mOl'e similarities with 'process art' than with ~':xp!'es­ SiOllislll 01' the Neo-ExllJ'CssiOliist tCllde n c ies that were emerging in the art world at the time. In De Keyser's work, l)(llh05 remains completely lI11forthcollling and, particularly his \\'ork ofthe 1!J70S, is marked in ils e ntirely by a certain trallquillity. Roland Jooris speaks ora 'bare, somewhat st ripped-dowll, yet i11!.cnsc nil" and of paintings that 'sland out through their modest but tangible presence. They avoid being c1iwlUrous in any way, both through their' IOnlwt lind the way they are painl ed. They esdlcw <lIIyLhing that might appear' 10 be elreet, bravlIra 01' super'lIciaJ precision .''"] Their illlrovcrtcd , quicscent chat"flcter in this period is fr'cqucnlly rc inforce(1 hy the al'\.isl's prcf~ crcncc for 11 I1C~lIral 1ll0nochfOrne palette - which was also chnrnClc l"i stic of i'\r.ndamental Painling. 14owcver, in conlraslto FUlldnmentai Pninling, which chose the llloJloehromc because it Ilwdc il easier 10 isolate and derme all pictorial panllnetel's, De Keyser's monochromes arc in no respecl Ulle{luivoca1. This is appllrent from the series of nil jlilinLings wilh L1le I'eventi/Ig title Tegeud/"aads (Olt Ihe bias, 1978), in which a red, yellow, hluc or grey murk is ]>ushed. against t.he upper edge or grey monochromes. The colours of thcse marks 'mH '·""V"'. OJ" \ 7~"''' al'e diclated by lire clHTcrcnllayers orc()lour covered by Ihe gl·ey. The ])HHlO(:hrOIlH' i.~ ])ot t he reS\11t or rcducliou or jlurilicaliUlI hl~I'C, hUl or accumulation or cont'lI n inalioll. Slight irregularities III th e edge sugges1 I hc pI"CSCIlC(~ of tile underlying laye l's and direct lile viewer lowards l.h e process-based IHlture oflilC painlillgs. Tlris principle of str<lUl"iealitJ1l, whieh con t inlled 10 play flnwjor rol e in Ihe work or t.he IgBoS ilnd '90S, is Also to be found i n Ihe pilintings f(njlfwekcorrectie ( 1!J78) m en tioned above ot" "'Cj~.\·t(~rb/'eli ( 1978), holh of which evoke unmistakable associations with Roberl )\Yllli1n. Hunger for Images: a New Beginning, 1980 Around 197!)-80 iI chilllge can be observed in the work of De Keyser. The 'M illima l' or 'Fundamental ' period WIIS brought to an end and, artcr n decade of l'cs1rained I'esean:h , pain Ii ng on ce IIgai n became il Iblsl. This shill IIl so implies De Keyser's reconne clioll with e(intemporary {Jc\'eJopments, which ill lite ea d y IgBoS wel'c dorni.wled by a ,'evlval in pninllng. In lJe Ke yse r 's ("ase, Ihough, Ihis WIIS uolll ciespc rllt e flil'tlllion with new IIl"tistie Lrends. li e is patently not tile kind of" art ist who i s interested in innoval ion ror its own sake, In tbis respect his position relates more Lo such artists as I 1'; .. \\ "r'lk 1'."",1,'1,,- ,-,hlhlll"" III C",lkk !i< " \\'"kI.. ,·" (oul'll). slHm in/: I",,, l'I>""i,,"~ (",· .. ",,1 1.",1 IlIinl frum IlIl' riJ:hll or 1);0 7...",1"/,, UOrlnll nl or M onllld l, who pl'IIl'idt>d i\l odemism wil li rnueh -ucccled iJreathing spm;es. Instead of ]lushillg the bou ndaries, h(' l'xp lorcs Ih em. InslclllI of cOIlqucI'ing lIell' tl;!rrain, he hri ngs it de pt h. In Ihe loBos Ill' rl id not , t hc rcfon ., jcUisnn ni l he had Ill'quircd ill lh e pl'cccding deca de, hut applied hi s eX1)cri e li Cc 10 ollll't' pra ctices. li e al so lou ked lor li nks wi lh his cn rl iCl' work. Accord ing 10 Dirk Dc Vos, al this lime, 'al beit tlllCUllscioliSly, a loop was mnde hack 10 hi s curli est lVor ks, the colou r ful, concrete paintillgs rrom 1964,-65'.1; lnlhe 198()S, De Keyser conll lHl ccJ to do what he h'lIl aJwuys done: plli nl. COllsequcnUy he eseapcd Ihe Cnri('ll tlll'ed clashes of an tagonist ic opin ions su r'round i ng tlw role ami validity of painting, then being laun ched hy criti cs allli ClIl'n lUl'S. On t.he OIlC hand , pnilllillg was applauded , Ihorrgh rrol irrrr'cqllen tl y from the posiUon of it r'c al'l iollar'y discou rse wh it-II eorwe- l hll n 11 flrkc noslalgia for II ~ I own l!s~ unci aul hc ll I.i cily thai was dellnilivcly passed. With hind~ i ght, Haoul De Keyscr's work ~ec m s to transcend these discussions. li e 1><l il1ts, hut, li ke all the greal painl ers ofl he twen t ieth ccntu r'y. tw acknowledgcs ilnd pr'oblematizes Ih e pr uclaimed end of pain ting.'" Yve-A l ai n Iloi s co nvincingly delll{) rl SI r'ated Ih al UIC en tire PJ'Ojccl 01' Motlel'll ism cou ld nol work without an apocalyptic' myl h of thf' endY From ils begi nn ing there was II prcOC('lIIJiI lion wi th Ih e sCl'II't'h for the deg/'e zero of Jlilintin g. 1\l odernisl pa i ntin g did not develop deSI)ilc Ih e rendymade. bul because of il. I\ol h th e in duslriol division of lal>ou r and the rel)l'oducUoll techniques, w hich had contaminal.ed the domai n nf art wil.h lh e I'eadym nde. underlie the emphasis on hru shwork, te xt ure <md the m.11eJ'ial parameters of Modcm ist painting. Photogra phy, mill, video an d Conceptu al Ari did uOI, fl'om a historical perspeclivc, elimin ate Modernisl pai nting, hul macle niently played Hillin the desi r es of the art m arke t. l illving ()Ill'~ ngairr lll'(,11 pl'Ociaimed 11 ki nd of k in g Mini among Ih e ;\1'1.'1, following Ih f' i('oll oelasm it possible. Nor' did - fortunately enoug h - th e mul isJIl and Cflll cephw i AI'I , painlin g was now emhraced with opcn an n s tn s/rl iate 11 sO-('alled eSl ahlish ed fa ct of lh e end or pnintin g prcvelll !\·Ialevich . Moml riilll. Rodchenko, or lIei nhardl and 'hunger for' irnugt's'. On tilt' othcr hand. il wus proclaimed t ha i i n th e age of Ihe si muiacruill iI hud definitively Insl ils Jlw'I)Os(' lind irUt'sri lY. NeWOlmr from Jlainting. De Keyser does nOI deny Ihe problematic position of l)IIlllling - he uses it as 11 point ofdepnr·lurc. [,ike Rohert fi)'11lIUl, 1\110111 de\'Ollred in 111(' incess<lnl slream of images gener'llled hy consu mer socil'ly anrl th .... mcdia . In the Ile Keyser, 10 use rve -Alain Bo is' metllphol', 'is 11 gUlII'(l inn althe 10m b of Model'11 isl pai nling'.'" or I!.gc of digilal imaging, painOng oou ld be nn morc III De Keyser 's I'cnecli oll on Ihe p(lmusi(l of 24 ST EvE N JACO IIS • mu CM.427-431 C~I.419. ill. p. 51 cat. 595bis I~ painting, it is impossihle to apply the Modernisl, lin eor vicw of his lOry to hi s own wOrk. His painling has no goal other than itself, it owes its existel1Ce tn IIl e delOLlr. De Keyser does nOI work fl'0111 a predeterlllined programme; he is lIot concerned with the ouicome of it series ofaxioJlwticl1l1y J)1'cdetermined possibilities of combinations. His pailllillgs arise illihe prOcess of being Illadc. or course they are preceded by an idea, perhaps a skelch, hut nol a disegno. The execution chases the conCCIJt and overtake~ it. Each result, morcover, 1)I'ovjdes the motive for a series of new challenges. Sometimcs ol(lcr w01'k lilerally serves as a basis lor new: a paitllillg may be given a new layer of paint years aller its completion. The old image may disapl)efll' behind a monochromc veil and then loom faiTllly through il. Thus, in some cases, creation m eans nbsolute destruction : an older paintillg, even one that may have been pictured in a catalogue, may bc sacrificed. In 1982, for cXillnpl c, II number of small works from the eal"iy 1970S - chalk lines on a green backgrOlUld - were oV(!rpaillted in a single colour. In some, old lines gently loom through Ule thinly applied new paint layer. 111 oUlers, barely a trace I'emains of th e original COIllI)OSition. Correctie (Correelion, 1973hg82) is an adjustment or adt.litiOlllO a ca nvas painled almost ten years berore and I1innenhoek (1Il1ler II CO/"I/cr, 1989) also has II twcnty-yelll'-old painting <1S it s S1Ipport. IIll1u ~t he said, howe vcr, thilt tlWSl' too were exceptions, ilnd thilt Ihis pl'oceduJ'c nevcr b~{~i111H~ <I S)'slc111 I1ti(' 1('(·11I1i((ll('. Yc t lhi ~ practice - which h;lS litlle to do wilh, for instance, lhe iconoclasm of Asgar JOI"l1, who a lI('red nineteenth-cen lulT bOUJ'gcois paintings, OJ" Rohert Hillischcnbcrg's Nco- Dada eras llre ofdl'awillgs hy Willem De f\ooning - enables us 10 look al De Keyser's other work in a very dilTcrcnt light. This interest in i1 palimpsesl structure, which ha~ 11I1IIouiJIed ly become more illll)ol"la n t inthe artist's recenl work, lies in perfeCI.ly with the (I en iill ora leleo logi<.:al development. Establishing 01 genealogy for lJe Keyser's oeuvre becomes an impossible task; the paintcr i ~ aller (1111101 only his own iconoclast, he also falsifies hi.s own history. Nol hecause he wants to antedate works, hut hec;luse any datiJlg is made impossible: is thc underlying layer, which we can sec I"ilintly sh ining ! hrough, simpl y t.he gr'omHI oflhe painting, or is it 1I1e skin ofn much earlier work~ Eve n an X-my of certain paintings would reveal lillie 10 darilY this pOillt. De Keyser lhus also counters <I cruci;l! strategy of Modernist painting. Philip Fis her, l'e fc1'1'in g 10 Ihe work of Jasper Johns and Frank Stella, which he 1"cgl11"ds a~ cml)lcmali<.: of Modernist painting in general, demonslrated 111111 an)' work , • • • O,,,,lu,,,/, Oil "n ' !Jl~ , ';,",,',"S, ')J .~ 5:' <"I" of art complying witll the logic orthe lIluse um ha s Vii',," <lr lh~ ~~hibil i "" 'IIn"'" n" lin'",,., 1)""1,, IllIhi""",II"". 'Iid,,,,,,' '1),lIh'. I'hili"I1<" I'a" :;"i,·k'. ,'h,,,,'''''' "an 11" "c", I""Il,' " K""". Gh,'''1. '!J7~' l'ai"U,,!(s hy 11;,,,,,11),' Ii"ls,'r ""(ll\i..,,,,,'<I IA'''!('S l)'l/i" '",,,II.;',,. to take account of th e factuali ty of its institutiona l paintings, I':ach painting, moreover , also con tai ns a prcmonition of its own dcath , not on ly for the ruture,'U MOiling 011 fromlhc concliision that modcl'Jl flrt, ho wever strongly it lIlilY have sake ordwllcll gin g t.he I'uln er allilily Ilncl tran sicnee of piclurialllliltler, bu t becau se it immedi - opposed th e mu se um , is Il plwJlomenoll t.hat was produced I'M and hy this illstituLion , Fi sher il\{'ly gives ri se to the id ea I,hat it Illay be Mel'- ohse /"v es that , sin ce MOllet's series, Modern ist becomes a 1I01/.;{ifli!U, for Ih e linaltouches to the painting are, <lfler <lll, linked to 11 cont in uity that painlillg has made its own development i nto its .~ubject. Si ncc museullIs al'e inst itut ions which, rather thall se parate wo rk s, pr esent a linear art history, th e artist is prompled to produce slI e!! a hi stori cal fI"(IIIWWOI'k, Ilot only i n the deve lopmcn l or his oeUI)/"/' through the yem's hut also in two works hun g Ilex t to one ilil oth er. Aceonli ng to Fisher, Modernist artists {Teate 110t so much in dividual wor ks of al'l as dHlIlks of their own hi:-ltol'Y, with caeh individual painting consciollsly I'onllillg painted and erased in U1C future, Every paillti ng w ill oli ly end with the end of the painter (eVE' 1i though, in theory, thc poss ibility always remains that somconc else could add t o or I>;lint over lhe canvus). Ch a lk Lines Plotting the Course for a New Art: 1980-2000 a l ink in an art-hiSltJriea l cha ill. TllI'ough repenl- I) t~ edly reworking the same Ih eme or motH dubiolls 01', III the besl , a I1Mvc attempt to I'eillstll te th e [Jaill i ed image. His wO l'k r,'om the 1980s is (haystack, (:ath edrnt fa~'lIde , !lllg, sqUllrl', shoot in g target, the m ad Il ia I' st.metu re or the strip e, the Keyser's art, then, has lillie in ('o mmon wi th ,I not Hbollt putting his PHst behind him, The onl y chalk line, et c.) the viewcr 's atlcntioll hecomes focllsed 011 the art ist's grOldull t dcve topment. Th is inlluen ce th e pit'l.orial WHve o r the I980S has had on De Key~er 's work pel'lwps lies concea led in the is yc t <ul othcl" Modemist prindple whidl is tll1d el'mined by 1)(, Kcyscl' fl'om wi thin. 1\ single painting Illay sometimcs cOll ta i l1 tile r,'agmcn tcd histo ry or broad ran ge of pain terl y possihilities ht" explo re d in this pel'iod. Although he never dearly w Ol'ked wilh i n lhc deliued houndaries of II pl'I::dete l'lll iued his enLire oeuvre and all the while keep it <:011 - programme, during the IgSaS all pietorial stop s Wl~re pu lled out: h is colleelion o r motifs bl'lIlHt- cealed lind invisihle. In laye r UpUIl layer, his <II'l istic earec r is l:l1eapsH lalcd in the 't.h ickness' urhis ened, the spati al complexity in the wo rk 30 7.('iI('II II(!", ...M (.0.;,,1/11/;1/1.). '07\1 Oil "" , ';U,,'3S, 1" .~ flO l~" >catS02.$&.~3 :> cn561 inc reased, (Iud (l hl'omlcl' patellc .. lid nlal'gct' array of painl.in g techniques were drllwn upon. It is strikin g once IIgai n lhal Ihese clements IHlnels likc white s lrOllS, 115 fOl' eXlllllple in /101Over (1986) and) Hflll('p(jor/dIj{J'.~ () I)/)/'/ e de 1,(// were not isolated but constantly int erwoven. Every alleml)l al clilss ificaLion there fore dclracls on an aluminium s upport, they iI(:(l lIirC'1Il almost fl'OlTl Ihe complexi ty and ri chness of' Dc Keyscl"S l)ruduCli oll in IIle IgSoS. Although llO g roup or series of paintings CDn he unequi voca lly defined, an all c mpl is Illade here to suggest n lincage. A :> C81. 596 > cat.69(\, 698 > (11.705, 70G cat.381, 'II. p.1$ ill, pp,2&,71 e.t. 4eo ~aU86, ill. p, ~ > ~""643. ill. p.ll large grout) of wor ks shows the conti n uation of lhe chalk· linf' motir, wh ich ulso refcl's back to lhe hcgill ning or his artistic career. Th is motif is also, ill the wOl'ds of Oirk De Vos, 'col'l'odcCI , (;rumblecl lind paint ed (lui , and then juxtaposed wiLh Lighl, no;tting I"rmllt's in conlrasts lhat genenlle illusion';'" In 1980 l.hi s molir \WIS played ou t on large-scult· fo rllIals 8 11(1 ex hibited in Antwer-p, for example, in Gekrt/isl e krijlfijll ell $pie (/llIerseclillg Chalk UItI:,~ alld Wedge). Durin g the following ye w' il WM disperscclllll'ough cerlain works in lh e 'Ii)/'/l(l(lu st' I'ies, A few years l<ller iI reappeared logdher with II yellow line as all ou tline in t.he blu(' field of Untitled (1JIIle) (1986-87), !"mlll 1985, w hen lhe it rli st W/iS working on It desig" fOt' Ihe Porte de 1-\;11 metrO stalion in Bt'lisscls, the moLif was ollell doubled: in UL. (1978!t{}85), Diep (/Jeep, 1\)8,5-86), and in Ihe I-Ial (1Inlf) series (1g85) two purallcl hori zonl,,1 while lines s plit It hlue al'ell or colour. Sometimes they councct the dilTere nl dIW$, 1988), lll/l(l llepuurl (1988) , whkh is Ilaillted Ileruidic dimension tlll"Ough lhcir 1)(lSitiol1 with in /I rigid, geolllcll'i c CUllljlosilion, whilf' in Unlilled ( 1088) lhcy Clll'VC II I'tlugh IHlll1 for Ih l.~ 1I1 I>ch' es through the all -nhsol'hing g rccil. SOlllt'limes the molir is {Illitc lil e rnlly retrieved iJ lid n'd lIccd had.: down to its mimetic' origin , as in A/i(/(Ielllijll 7}90 (Celllrf Lille 7J90, 197511990), The motif cuntitHied [0 resurface obstinately 111l'Ollg hotitthc 1990S, with works likl: Grill/lid (l071/ 1995) 1l1H1/'''/'{/;.fIllCIlI (1995) pl'Ovidillg inleresting t'xllmlllcs, VHguc, duud-likc Ill'cas lire givcn structure by <l slriPl' 01' comCl' whi<'h .'Ieems ('0111 pm'al.ivel y lallgible, Hotll /{omsl (Com iI/X) and Sta rt from 1995 rclah: to works made tell Yl'11 rs em'licr," Unlike ill certain other pieccs, thc Ol'igina1llictol'inl ('o illpositio n ha s hlWIl prcsel"ved ill Illese two pnin t.ings. The Illol ir ht'!'c WilS lIevel" ('oncealed hencalh a tllOllOclll'Otlle veil, hut WiI.1; only touch ed lip. Slwt, with its g reen field , bl ue s t ripe lind w hil e lines - whic h is mos l remin isl'Clll of lhe ea d y De Keysl.!r - seems also 10 rel"el'to the i Ilcreased s pil l illl Itlllhiguity I)]" til is period III I'ough its diagoJlal illlllge Ilxis. The linking ufllle ("halk lim's tO il Ill'W s palinl sensibility is illso de.lrly visible in /ltle/'i (Augle) ;/..rilr" 1"",-.-1.< ( ...."i/.· lliII.<). ' 9111 Oil "01 " 1001'a.'I, ,' " ~ ~ cm (,'~kl1li.<lr In~ "n A'rijllijll (1III(I~I'(1illl: CIUlIA· !Jur ..), 76,·", 'E/IIo' ImIH'r,~, ( 199'-9")' A whit(, hook, whi ch pJ'C/ps up II winered slIlwl'e ol'v<Jl'ying lones, lIllIlliSlaknhly evokes is IlIel'erorc 1II so undermined frOllt lI'il llin , Tlw pu shing 0[' Ihe red to thc back has been \'Ol'- the ('Iwl ier chalk- l inc pajlltill gs,'~ The gClILl e gra datiol1S in the ,'cd sUl'fllc.:e al'e undoubtedly the rc('tc(i' hy the o\'crpaillting. Wh ilt' th e whil e result o f the ovcrpainlin g to which Liw wor'k has been slI bJect~d, On l he lell, a blue shillllllel' has bee n len visihle in plH t'es, Odgi nu lly made ill acrylk on can vlls. l he pailluJIg was later given H layer' of oil. 111 contrast 10 thc mOlloc hl'oll1e vcils, which merely sliggestthe undeflyill g 51.1'11111, here the inlegrity (If Ih e Ilrigirwl image is not damagecl, /lo ek is 1I0t a palimpsest heemr sc Ihe layolil of'tJw fit'st ve l',~ ioll d elermined Ih e lalet' one, Thus, the Siru ctll l'e urlh e while ang]t' (whic h is drnwll pal'allel wi l.h the lell and lower edges uf the SCj ll ....C) is ma inlai ne!l, and Ihe S(llWrt' fonn al IlIl'Ilcd i n o n itself, as il wc,'c, The S(llIiII'e is. aner' all . il sllilpe Ihlll gC Ill"'Jl les no d,' al' SPllli1l1 efTe!'t - hence thc 1ll,lrked prefc l't' J1I't' for the S(l lIlIn: ,unung painters who cons ider' lht, se lf-l·efo:.renlilll dlllnrcler urtl1t' medium 10 he j),1J'<UlloLinl. The ri ghl angle also gt'Jlet'atcs n new square, whi ch is pu shed toward s th e Ul)per' 1'ig IJL The white C01'11t: I', furlher'rnOI'e, el'Clll es II fraJn(' 1'0 1' [lrl' w ine-('cd Slirrat:e, This WI1 S o"igi lllllly llppli ed ovcr Ihe rcd in ill'J-ylic. Ihe ,'cd lnye!' of oil paint 11011' OVCl"llIpS I he wh ile, An y sJlittial illusion of del)!h is I II~reby cou nteracted. Thc I)aillti ng bccom es 11 Mobius sl rlp, Whitcs an d r eds m'e, lit most, i nterwoven cololl r veils which hitVl' Iransformed i nto something almosl Inct ile. To rnado: An Impress ionism for the 1980s From th('. 11)805, Dc Kc yser eXI)andcd his ieot1ographi c VOI'llbulnry, Besides Ihe ('ilalk lines 11 Illltuhet' of olh el' mOlifs also began to 1I 1JIJClII' regularly. TIl(' tH o nkey puzzle t l'CC growing i n fl'Ont or his studio w indow [ll'Ovidcd h im with n nl'II' point of departul'c, In the Ihree versiolls or Zll cltl Jlpef/.1)1'1'((";1'1 (Soft MrmlifT Pu::;::./e, 19a1) Ill(' IHli)'y silhouelle of'lhis Iree ha s been d cvdoped inlo II pOWCJ'l'lIl cli lli graphi c ligul'c. It 1llso cmps lip re gu- larly in Dc Keyser"s prints or tlle same period , sllch as the /I1a/IIICti,r Se/'ies (I08J-83). I Jl sOllie of fr,Hlling fUllc ti on contradicts I hc f;wllhlll Dc Kt:yse r 's l)a ln I IJlgs il l'o:. sl ri pped of fI'arncs so Iha l the paintings w ith Ihe title Zill!;m(( (Sioldlll{, 1{)83) , il bccomes 11 kiml of diilgona l bal'khollc sup- \Ie nevcl' sce th t'1lI in terms of dcp th. as an ollclling in tht' wH II 's su rf1J {'(' whi ch Sli cks 11 Spll{'c inlo it. Th,' illiisionislit: fran te ol'lhis while CIIJ'll{T porting col(Jurru l compositions. AlmOSI It' ll yCll rs lat er' the monkey pu zzle is i rH'OI'jlOr'H l eci tllin such work s l1S Oust (Ellst), lJlell de Cie/, and Grellier I) ca t442. ill, p.85 32 • c'I.6(2 and 1./ 1'1'0111 1992. He re the mOlirfllses wiLh un all- Clt396 > III. pp.30-31 p. 79 > C8 t. ~,III. H pklur'ia l 11"(11)5I<1liOlr over structure, which both completely seals Lhe fur th e way in whieh lhe calloe ripple s t he deep, grccn wa tcr, whkh i n tll1"l1 cdgcs ht! twecllthe cru mbling blmks wi th their k lloll ed trecs. The of Pic I f\'lonclriun's Lrcc IHlinlings I'rom 1912- 14. Another molif lhal frequently ilppcurs ill Ue Keyser's work l u the cur ly .!)Bos is Ihe how of a eanoc, which is onen presented as 11 broad , ('oloul'cd SIHlI)C wh i ch hlls heen shoved verlicolly. catm bout, but ntt ernpl s to lind imuge surfuce and rra gments it. Despite the ir compactness ilnd conlinuing attention to the materiality of lhe paillt, these paintings possess a vague correspondence to th e iUllllaleri,,1 skeletons ca1. 437 " horizontally or diagonally into the painting. This llIotif, of ('ou rse. SUrf'ilCCS in SOBle of the Zillkelld 1)<lilllil1gs (1083), and ill lhe TtJ/'lwdo sc l'ics li'OIll Ihe rem"s 1!)81-8!.l:, lhe name of which is borrowed l\iver' Leic (I.ys), wh idl was streit 1111 i1llport anl icon in the Ilalnling of lire urtcrtr Schoo l (c, looo- '..!5), WHS (i etached by Dc Keyscr I"l"Om any kiml 01" po;slor'ill rw stalgi .. and apPl"Oat' hed as a l'uut cmpo1"ltl'y pidtU'iul dwlkllgc. It is ,~ tl ' ikill g 10 see thitt th e I1seetic il1ld inlr'nvt'r"l~d t'lw ra cler of hi s work fmlll IIw 1970s has comple tely di sn ppcured hel'c jt1HlthUllhese IJilintings have tIloderalcl y ('XJlI'cssive overlo lles. III nny ('ast', Ihe coml)Osiliorwl ('omplexil), has illcl 'eaM~d, tilt' brushwork is (It tirlWs looser, lilt' pilielle 1I1or'C from Ihe <:mH)e wh i ch the artist oneil I>addled var'ied, noland Jooris l'efcrreclto .. boul in at this time. Sometim es th e bow is dearly visible; someti m es it is only suggested beneath a sily of ilHcrnalely pen t-up and I'clclised plastic tcnsiolls',rr tan gle of thick paint cloud s. Likt' till! chalk lin e~, this motH' qui ckl y carns its independcllce [Illd exchanges II di rectly mime lie origill rOl' a whole n(' w ser'ies of associations. Dirk lJe Vos haS r eferrcd to the way in w hich Ihe st rip es, th e diag- Tile increased lension s i n lh e pi('lIlr'e plalle, lhe co ll)ur and llrt' nlilrks ('IJIIlt) to thc ~ lIl"l"a cc in lhe scries Zeilell 1U:lIlJt'l.~ (Sails lIills , 1979) ,md ZeveI/ VUOI' Jewlfll' (SeL,/,1I fu,. }emilie, 1980). III /Alve//. VOfW Je(lf/I/e IIU' l1t illinlill iHld still s('l f- re nexive UII '1 11 \\'111'(1 i nten- orM I spool- like han ds, oml the br ond bends thut visual vocahu l;:lry generales ulllllisl'.l kahlc <lssocja- cut the surfa ce Olr Ule one Iland unnristakably evoke sli(ting- and pu ss ing- hy, and on th e other liorls with 1(lndst'upe. halld , refer to the shape of n boal or the pointed , lapI'red silhou ette of th e bow.·' Cl eal"ly. De Keyser is Jlot i nlt'rested in a deta iled rcpresentation of a The 'lanti sea IJe' chariLcler " of his wor'k is niSI) Slrppnl'lctl IIY rnn stol" lllc m olirs Dc Keyser uses liS SIHl"liu!;:-]loinl s: dwlk lincs ill gra ss, lire wl~{I!le - shaped how \If Ihe (:IIrWC, lhe hrilnch of lilt· mon key puzzle tree ill fl"()I}1 fir his I II \'i~w "r Ih,' nhO,ili"" "I i'III,\. K,' ..... ('Ij/'!$) "",I "'",·k.~ r,w" ' 1~7 I\n' ~o\<'I.o\ (1~1). shnwi n!'( llrllrJl"1I/1 ., studio window. These ilrc illl moving, intangible, like','s De Keyser's fierce bmshstl'okes fmlll th cse neelin g, cllh emcl'al, in ShO I'I, impressionist motifs. yenl's are the result of a struggle wilh colour, tht' His ])alcltc 100 rcillfol'L.'es these ilssoci(lliol1s: the paint and the support nnd !lot with 11 rcnt I)sychf', In cnse we still need a [rame of refe rence fOl' lht' greens (Ihe g rass green or the deep green of I he wilIer of the Hi vc l' i-eie), IIlmosL II hllr llllllrk "r his work, alld the sky hlue Ihal was to become pil1'ti(~ ulal'ly Impor'larll ill t he 19905. These iandsc<lllC alld nalu,'al 0,' organic' refe rences ill the mid-l980s hegan to provide a reason for' abandoning the restrained distance of the '0705. Varioll s vc rs ions of 7.ill!;l'IId (1{)83-84) 01' KI/{mw (!Jilt, (984), with thelr powerful ilntl colourfu l SWCCI1S, even he lll' /I ,'clation to 'Yillcm I)t~ Kooning's readings of the Long Isl and landSCal)C. So mc lillles the familiar profilc of the bow of a ca noe IHlfli1es III1'ollgh beneath the 1)flil11. Mists or the cnllnhs of a chalk line sll ddel1l ~' become nbsorhed into a roughl y brushed surface. While thcse lire the most restless pieces of De Keyser's ctlt'ccr, together wilh ccrlain works from the Inte 19805, such ;IS Novemha (lgSg) or so me versiolls of J(rlj'(Nolch, 1089), Ihey still eschew grand gestural fi nd hra\'ado c ffecL~. De Keyser never IU111ed into il tormented expressionist nnd in nu respect does he cClme ncar the OIlCComnipotenl Nen-I':xlwessionislll , whi ch IVIlS descrihed by tile American criti c Oonald KuspH 115 'n fnlse expI'cssiOll lsm heCfl usc it is blnse nIH] SOI)hislicalccl 11110[11 whal it sees, rDlher lhan c hild- 19805, n link Illay sooner be found wilh tht' laY(~ I'e cl qualities of Pel' Kirkeby's wOl'k Ol'the cxpel'imcnl S ofSiglllar Polke rather lhmllile pathos ol'lhe NelllJ JIIildell. In De Keyser's work th e IWlldwriling a lways remains conll'Olleli; this is also apparenl [I'om n numher of 'cnlligrnplli-c' pieces from lh is period, sllch as so me vcrsions of Zrs VOOI' P (Si:c!or I~ , 1!}85- 86). In other paintings, like /1'/'{/I, ( WreCk, 1984), the streams of paint seem to have slid together to form n monochrome field bl'Oke n by slippage and patchy renwindel's or additions, In contrast to mOlly earlier I)uin\ings, which seem sca led, concrete nnd langible objects, lhe pictorial space in these works turns In on itself, A new spatiil l dimension is coupled with an illusion of d epth without beeoliling 11 perspecth'al effect. The Innclscilpe climcnsion is evoked not. only by the organic transfol'lnulion and Ihe colour, but also hy the coloured veils and particularly lhc stratification of the various paint layer s. '" ill. p.21; CU 452 '" c.t.595, III. p.53 '" caU16,Il81 38 I'" - • •It \'I ... ~ "r lhe e.\ hibili"" at Klln.<lhallf Jk", (lg8II). ~h"win l " ..rk.' f"II" lhe 1I"I ..,ric ~ {, ~ I",d Itm"'It· (.\1&1) Scenography: Spatial Illusion 1987-89 "e. t.5~bi •. 570,111. p.. CIt.588.593.S86 This new spolial scu sibi.lily emerged around 1987 in 11 series of works which could col1venienUy be descri bed as 'geomet ric'. NOl only beca use they lIsed basic form s suc h as squares or circles, or because the CO I1lI)osilion rested 011 math emati cal proportions, hut because, fOl' lhe nl'sl lime, disliucli \'c ,IUd morc or less cletl d y delineated imagel'Y WIIS used. These cOlllpollenL<; relate 10 the picture pl!m c in an en tirely dHTc rcnl way from ~~ t. S3 1, ~ , 510, 511 , 512 the wedge s hapes and chalk lines I'rom around IgSo. In w Ol'ks such as N.O.B., !((lil/cling (Tul'ning IImll(lliOlls, i'ormcd IIl e co mpOllent.<i il l til e (:Ollstrllction or a pfO!' udo-pcrfOpeel iva l SPII('(:. \\forks SUi'll as flj'/l/(,II/ioek (/I/ller Curt/('/·), KomI'/" (HoolII). St/ldic (SIllily). Kabillel (CabifJel) and Model vow' {(llblflCI ({'dodd/or Cabint'l) even !'l'lah' to Ihe paintings Rene DlIlliel.<i Illade hetll'ccil 1985 and 1987 under Ihe col lective Hli e IHlwie 'fi:III(1)//;jl ellill' gen ( Hc<lutirul Exhih itiolls) . In these paintings the m otif of 11 how-tic em er gcs as 11 spatial constru ction with illl end wall (lnd two side Wil lis" Pa inti ngs a.l'pem- to he hung on these wall s see min gly conforming to t he Jaws of I)t'rS pt~clive. TileY o neil fiver ), Sc/tuillle (Incline), Sclluivell (Gliding) or appeal" as allto nolll OUS me mhran es Iloating over alld para lie/to each oLllc l' 011 the pi('ture pJane. '-lIlIdillg, as the tilles woul d suggest, we sec planes thai shin in fro nl of and behind each olhel', lea n agai nsl eaeh olher or clash , someti mes even Hy makin g m onochrome- type painlin gs in an exhi bition the su bject of hi.<i own 11 . Ilililings, I\c nc Daniels llvoids the fli chotolll Y of ngm '(' and pass through each other, consta ully appearing to slip away. I\olond Jooris dcscr il)ed them as 'com pOSitiOIi S rull of on s ulur lind pcrpcndi clIlnrten. sions', l lJl(\ nor.cd 'th e stiff clarity of t.heir composi- ahstracti on, 01' of r epr csentation al ld IH'Csclltation. in a man ner .<ii milar In De Ke yser, BOlh levels arc almust lilc rall y WOV(~ II into cn('h ot her. Tile aforem entioned wo rk ,~ hy De Key ser, th e .<i pn ti al inco n- tion, thei r inta ngible spatiality and thc sober , yc t i ntensely ex prcssive way Ihe pain t has becn sistencies, ehromal ic hlends and scmi · tranSI)arCIiI layers also illlpede illl i ntell)tetll tion of Ihese ilvpl ied'. '7 Dirk Oe Vas referrcd 10 'II SI)lItial gamc comparable to when the scenogrupher movcs pieces orlhe .<ie t (I I'O I.tll(I ':I~ p aintings simply as r1101llS. This l>rcd ilcclion for spatiallllllbivlllenee CUll be found ill work by T his 'o/Tst(lge' efiect in IgSg led 10 a .<icries of 'mom' pai ntings, w h cI'c col our planes, which apllcm'cd to be tcsti ng Uleil' POSitiOIl and their llI ony nrt i~ts of thi s pc ri od . Just <IS in th e paintill gs o r Daniels ol'De Keyser, in the ('oll.<ilru('lions of Jeun-I\1m-C Huslemante, Jail Vereruyssc , CI'i.<itinil I glesias or Isa Gcrrt.kcn i nterll1ll SIHlt"!·S are 'II [ 1111 en:il ted whit'lll'an o nl y he eX I)c ri CI1 C'eri visually. Like the wo r k uf Ihis diverse rllnge Ill" artists, n c Keyser"s I}a illi ings fmlll the late 19&15 answer' to ,J 501'1 of d isru l)tt"d l)reSCnet:, w hich ad(!I'esses the im possihl e n :lwese ntation of II lIletnphorlen I spli ce. The allu sion to th e intan gi hi lity of space is, ol' c()u l'se, inh e re nt to the m c dillill of pain t il lg, bUl the wor k of KaHul 1)(. Keyser illuSlr'atcs how th is meta phor, lhmugh lhe sculptw '"r cxperi mCHts of the time, was ,'c-adapted to 11 piC'[ol'icd support. The int egrity Ill' Ih e support, huwevcr, is respected hy Dc Ke yse r , 1llld is 1101 Irllll sfOl'lI1cti into 11 pari o f II s{'ulptol'<ll installatioll similar to, for instance. the wo rk of Iml K""c be l or r-,'llIl'icn Schou ten , who Ill ukc Iht' pie.oriil' space ill visi b'c Ot' obscure it altogether, De Keyser dCllloJlstt',tl es lhll t cve t'y spatia l ill usion dashes agoitHIl th e IUrbid and layered d tiU'/td cl' inheren l to Ih e medi um ilself, lie re mains a lai c Mod ct'n i ,~ 1 hy remain ing fai thfll l tu th e mediulIl , w lt lch al the sa me time he uses in a Pust-Modern WilY 10 expose lhe impossihility 01' inoult'qual'i('s til' Mnrlel'l1 ist essentialism . Dermatology: The Monochrome Around 1990 These so-cal l l;'d 'l'Oom' pit in l.ings al slt st'l Lhe tone 1'(11' Dc Kc)'ser's WOJ'k in Ihe foll owi ng d Cl'lIclc. The ht'oad expans ion his work had lttulergone In lhe •I I I980S wa s not. (J ul y Cll liita li zed upon in the 1990s, it lI'a s iI' SO t'CinCfl-in and l'est ru clurcd. The restl ess pai n t eddies of lhe ex pressive altd eXlt'Ovet'! 'l<'Inclscape' paintings of the mid-lg80s guve way to nn 111'1 s imultan eously playful ilnd scre ne, light a llli tense. In no respect was there a re turn to th e asceti c 'Futl(lame ntal ' wo rks of lit e t970S, Thi s is apparent from the monoeh t'om es De Keyser mad e in the elll'l ~' 1990s, Oil'k De Vos rig hUy pOinl,ed oul that this term is inad eq uate an d even deceptive i n lh is ease,'lD Fo r De Keyser, lit e monochrom e is not an aim or 11 ge m·e. It is a lso no t th e consequ ence of a quest for ideal purity, as ill Ma levich , ROlhko 0 1' Kle in. I nstead of hei ng th e resuil of a delitchme nt from the material , De Keyser's monochrom es ore pl'ee isel), th e conclusion of flck tl0wledging Ih e physica l compone nts ofpa intin g, 'No m ethodology fo l' Ihe tltonoch l'om e is devclo pt'd ,' wril es De Vos. ' II comes into existe nce al most tltrou g lt th e fault oflh e work itse lf.' Jusl as in hi s other painlings, Ih e pietorial ima ge is the conscflucn ce of tectoni c o\'edapping s lind the shilling of pla nes inlo and elVer each ot l1e l', III som e works the sul'ii lce displays it sealed d ensily: others suggest et herea l mists of co lour. Aga in and agilin Ih e intcgrit y of tile m onocltt'olll e is dis rupt ed: almost always by the layers that cver}' so often bren k throu gh from u ndern en l,h ; by scrnteh iug tltl' pai nt Inyer, as in Z. (1990) or KlfulI"le (Clarily, 1991 ); cat.813, 628, frontispiece 40 cftt.625.6'8 cal.630 eat.650. ill. 1l.(2 e8l 6ol9 >cal,657 cat.648 > cat,1\74,678,681 through the supe "imposition of thick blobs of paint in Dal/oll (1990) OJ' whil e specks in Ove,. (1992). Sometimes , us in the palnl iugs from lhe mid-19Bos,1\ mys terious depth is evoked - for inslanct' in Grenier If (1992) - but us ually the viewer's <lIlC Il Uon is directed away frOIll the depth lind back \0 th e surface. Th is is clearly lh e cose in Oaf (Valley, 1992) and Plallk (1992), both exhibited ILl J)oculIlcnlU IX, where clear, Ivory-coloured HI'cas WCI'C soiled by small, hlack splashes of Imilli. It is precisely ill the Iwoad tonall'on ge of lhe 1ll0nOchl'OIllC that the vie wer sear ches i ll \'ol· un til l'lly !l l lhe edges. where the paint JaYCl'S do not join up, for Il'aces of lhe undcr l}ing strala. Yel noticing Ihese strata is no longer n nccessUt1' condition for r endi ng th e work, The ground needs to be I'cad tlu'ough the minirnul sIlins ill lhe surface, Dc Keyser fotce.s thc viewer into the tole of II dermatologist of pa i n ting, who eXI)lor es how the l)aint skin cr'acks, chaps, peels and blistCI'S, how it is given i dentifyin g marks by the painter or how it is wounded by SCl'nlches f)'OIll the puin th rush bandlc, AI limes the skin appears huttered, liS i n Flallk (19{y.I); at olhc rs It secllls 10 have 'bedsores' 01' - as in Over' (1992), which is painted on aluIllinium - It looks as if II h ll,~ heen whipped. And ~ome lim es it appears hard , like tanlled leathe r. II is clear that thro u ghout the cady 1990S De Keyse r single-handedly explored the multifaceted niltul't: of lllonocJ1r'olllc IMin ting, liS it wus Intel'llJ"eteu III man)' d ifTcrc nl wnys by as man y otlicr arti sts, At OO{:lI lllcntll I X, in w h ich De Keys{"r ex hibited his ran:licct , vu lnerable can vases in the ephemcml, tem porary Aue Pnvil ion, 1ll0no('hl'OIllf' paintin g was add ressed ill all its facets th rough the work or Gerllard nic ht er, Il CllllutDol'llcl'. Giinlhe r' F'iil'g F'I'cderic Matys Thursz, Gaylan Ger her, Adrian Schiess, Milja '''lsck a nd Peter Ilopkins, AIr: Fluttering in the 19905 A !'Ill'clied vulnerahility also comes 10 the fo r'e In works whel'C De Keyser uses a range of blues w hi ch the vic We I' instinctively I'ca ds /IS sky, In the r!){)Os De Keyser regularly traincd his 'Oying ski ll s· in pictoria l ~ 1)a CC, In Wea de Cid ( 1991"il2) Ihe ilwcsligation of a light-hlue inlin ity is linked to n trace of the m onkey puzzlc tree. T he result is u vib raling viSlllll c lTcct of eolour douds clashi ll g 1.0gC Il H~I'. In the Co urse or 1993 especially, De Keyser explored Ille houndllrics o r the illusion of ; IIlue 'heaven' in w(wks such us IJrm-llcrUn do/em. (IJcm-HerUI/ desctmding), IJel'll.-/Jeriin - !JI/O and Berlin 'Glijdelld' (lJcrlin 'CfidiIlK). ~; il c h timc the rectangles appen r to !loa! ill iI hnrely deli ned blue spacc, Thc somewhul SU jll'c m alisl fea!ul'es of these \\'ol'ks arc disnlptcd by the gradntions in blu \:! Jones "'hidl , hoWeVl'r tellIl C.US, I'e' pcate'cll)' llffinn th eir I"tJIUTClc ncss through the deillollsll'illive texturc or th e pai nt, Unlike in SUllrcmatism, however, in which Kllsimi r I\"lalevi ch daimed Ihat he 111Id broke. I throu gh the lilllitnUons or colour in hcrc, T he {'entrall.v posit iol1cd pwvle, Nt' \\'lIIa lllike 'zip' lends thi s pllinting lin iconic ffOnt;,lil y which 1l('Cenlulil es the centJ'if ug il t molioll uHIlt:: white accents, In another example frolll the f/lIyw(I/,ll seri es, the l)aiIHCr allows th is en-eci hi s while pailHings, the blue in De Keyse r 's wor k makes il c leul'th"t neitllcl' iI Ilcaven ly spa ce 1101' (l mystiClll void fonn s the subjecl ur lh e pailltings, am[ the spatia l ,'clalion between the vadous con stituent dements free r ein, In 1-/{lJ'WllI'l l l l ll ltl 6, Every pllilltin g by De Keyser remain s ' filled ' wi th edge as iflJley wcrc like magneli(' poles, In maleria l, with t'lIrlhl y gl'eens or blues which //fly w a /'d 4 and j, a Supl'emalist-Jike spatial sensibility is suggested bec.1llse the phmcs ( ', III no never evoke Ihe idea of'l Vll('UUIll , IlIlh es(' work s, moreover, there ar e no revol ving, sha rpl y dclill ed, immat erial ('o lour planes, bUI, lime mid agaill, just frontlllly IJOsiliolled areilS in whi eh th e (Iensi ty of the painlllnll the direction of lhe bl'ushslrokt's stand out agai list thl~ hl ue, This al so upplies 10 Stich w()J'ks us '/hllpLcuve and fkrfwi/ from '991. I ,ike AI/g ull/cm e and tlr/'{l.I' , I hest' work s 111'e !lam ed "ner p igeon- ra cing lown s in Fr ance wherc th e bi.'ds arc l '(!lcI.ISed, [h er eby ,'dllforcing flSsoci lit ions w ith Oy illg, The blue-wlli\(' or Ikr /wit hilr- bow'S a thin , horizon!a t S!J'il)C in brokt' li w hil e and ,111 01)1I(tuc 1II'ea in De Keyser's ('hanw l eri stic green , whil e in 'fi'llllJleli ve Lh l' sky blue is ('u! throu gh hy tWI) thullc-l ike structures, Beclluse the blue within th e ['nunes is din'ercnt I'l'Ol11tlll1t on the outsid e, II complcx p];ty of spatial t'cce ssioll is on ce Il gain suggestcd, IJt' I'I/~fkr/il/. IWnge luf (fJrnl-Beriin IUIIIKiIlK) and II 'ilIe dt' Ilfilll J6 are in lCr cs titlg invt' rsions !If Lhis them e, 111 both ' 993 painlings th e blue is .'csel'Vctl fo." respecti vely, l hree and fOlll ' colour 1)lancs which, \hdr d iflcl'c l1 ce from lhe bluc i n other I)uintin gs not w ith standin g, arc pat'ti culul'ly opaqu c. Th e vcrti cal sky blue is Ilel'e Il'Hnsform ed in to a i'onn within thc pliUI C, ralll(~ "thfln coveri ng the whoit' illl (l BC, In Willc de Willi 16 the' foul', more or less I!vt'nl)' placed, verl iC1I1 blue stripes undulatt' OVCI' Ih e grcen plane pai n led with rough horiZOl1tal sl.mk<'s, I\enealh th is gr een \\' t' can , however, (liscel'n the jll'esen{'c uf li lt kind s of yellows, blaeks and reds, Bern- Ber/ill fUIII!{end is, by wily of ('0Iltnl51, an ('x aillph' of th e wa y in which Ihe arti st finilll y draws logetlwr tht' them es dil1'el't!1l 1. sel'i cs, I\ csldt' , I)t!tween, as \\'c ll as filinlly hdlilHlthe blue rectangles we observc th e nOW- flll11i l ia l ' l rc(~ stnl ctlll'f' of tile monkl~y puzzlt' 1'1'0111 Il'ce, Th e l'CCtilllglcs are, liS H Wel'C, fl'agllleni s of a denr sky, chunks ur air l.h111 Iiaw gOI c/lu ghl ill the hran ches, f/ll,YlI'lII'lI 7, w it h its l ight-blu e surfllt'C, Ull w hich w hile d"ud ~ UI)jlear to move, cml also he linkcd to 1Ilith ese 11IIiniin gs, Yet it hc(:o mes immediately apparenl that ,lI1olher piclol'ia[ prohlelll is at issue c~ t, 683,587 Ihe plan cs secm to push each other beyond Ill e c at.685, ill. p.62 ca,,68G longcr be exclU sively r cad liS ]llll'aUc lto Ihe pictu r e plane, hut at time s seem 10 CUi th ro ugh il. Colour arcas hegin to I'ela l e 10 cach o lhel' spatinlly in term s of hefo r e and behind, wall lind Iloor, The (Ill-over stmct ure of Ihe surfaces ol'gon i7,ed l ikl' monochromc planes, the trec IMilltings or w{)rl, ,~ like lfiuc de Wi /II. 16 llnd Lill/og l:s li r e c,;ch,lIlged in Ihe lIayward scries ami in Cilll\'flSCS likp Drie (77u'ee) lind !JI'rtlo-Ocr!in - rood (fJem~Oerlill - fled) for a com position wit h a certain I)I,(,,-w ar fe(' I, in which \lM ious entit ies balance each oll ie I', Yet Ad l'ia u Searl e, one of the c uratOl's of 'U nbound , Possihilities in Pain ling', wher e Dt' Kc yser show ed the Hayw ard se rie s, rightly nuanced this as follows: 'Their 1lI0.lest sClll c , rcgulm' forlll s, declarative yet cotltl'OlI cd !Jl'ushwOJ'k and colour may nllllw them appeal' in som e I'CSPC('IS conscr vative exumple s of Eur opean Model'llist sellsibi lity, yet t hey lir e full of iml)ctuos ity and stran geness. Thcl'c's natu rc in lhem, and bu ildings, and (Ill iet w cath cr , flnd Ihe sounds of a tl1 iUl \\ ol'ki ng alone in an UPI)CI' room .''10 The work s from the lIa'ylVw'd sClies briu g til{' so-called 'gcolllcirie' work s or 1!}87 10 miud, In which it serm s as if the artiSI Il as h t~en plnying wit.h plancs shining UCI'OSS cHch Qllle l', In ('on tnl sl to these old er \\'orl,s, w hich had no IIglll'c-lllldground sll'lI clurc, most (Jflhc Clt1lWISes in Ihe II(1),w(tl'd seri es IHlvc cent rifu gal compositions, i n w h ich th c cOIll I)onents oneil ap peal' to float on a whi te 01' hluish SCi!, De Keyser w ent on to explore t his noatin g 0 " ddfiing aspccl iU'OlUHI ' 995 in sudl works as Skittish, 8/1I1'1i, Sp eed anti Pelll: I/'{I1II 1Ind resullled it in t999 i ll SOlnc of tht' lwilltings ol'tht, Retour series, III Pel/e/mlll dark lines aplwar 10 ru sh dowil IlU'Oll gli II hlul'- whi l,e sky, In Skilli,fll and IJ/III':> th e sky hlue has gi vcn wa y 10, r CSpe('tivel y, ye ll ow lind I'cd spaces in which dar'k 01' pin k ish- red c hunks secm to rota tc, These ('h unks Oil t he one hand resembl c dippiugs of lo rn - UI) dmw iJlgs appeMing in some paintin gs frotH th e ' 970S; on thc othe,' ha nd th ey "CSf'mhle hirds, ael'Opllllles 01' cloud s, Somelhi n g similar wa s "c~t.6!13, ill, p,64 "c~t. 68II,M' , M2 cal, 582--688, 671, 694 , 666, 676 "Cal.&77, &7 1 cae,711 , 713 , 714 " cat.~ 46 S TI ':V~:N JACOtlS .... • • ' " . " I\rlll'uk /If (Nm,'w'k III), 'Y7J "'T)'Iil" "",I dl~p'~rsi"n I'nill( "n ,'jln,'Il.<, I ~" , e.c.107 Cal. 118, III. p.9\I worked out ill EmilI.'. in which gm ss-grt:enlllnrks Oil clark ye llow stripes appeal' 10 (It'ill 011 a hullel'('O IUlU'CII su "faee. 111 UIII itletl (SlIggestion), the ,J" ,",II phologrnphk 01' f1Jlll k c lTel't ill Dc I\eyse r 's Il'O!'k II1US\ be attributed 10 the nll lo l101l10ll S pkto1'ial elem cnts clHlI'acterizi ng his idiolll, IhiulleS.<i of th e sky is exchanged fur the density of Cll, S5S, 651 '" en.c(lo&, ,gl lhe swimming-pool blue walcr: lhe wOl'k WIIS dt'scriiJciJ by Roberta Sm ith in TIl/' New I'ork ' Clo se r ie'; The Enclo sed Garden '/'il/H'.," ns II hlurred illlage of Whi msical Gri ds or /I swim mer 's legs ill thl' waler."1 With lls Lhinly applied ]lAi nt lind horiZOlllll l l'i pples l hl' painting also l'ccn lls Ihe disto rted images of cilrly video a rt. Suggestion is, ru rII !Crm ol'c. a si ngu lar' examp le orllle 'photographic' 01' t>VC ll 'ciUClllillic' quality displa yed by certain o f [)j' Kl' ysc r's work s rrOIll the 1990s, This errect. wh ich was <1lrcady to be seen in Ullfilled n ' OIll 1988 or WeI/lie Ciel ( 1991-92). rea ppCaI's in such works as lIoywa/"d 4 and J. 1:-'lIIite, BllIrs and , above all, in ''''II~f{I'S fi(!I/, II" we ICilVC th e close-UI) approach or n'aHI), in his cllrly II o rk asid e, De Keyse r is all artiSI who, in ('on l ra51 w it h Gerhard Ric hler or r ,Il l' ']'UYI1W IIS, has showlt UILIe i ntNest in t.ht' lll CdWtlil'a l I'Cpt'Oduclion or realil y, Unlike J\i ehter anll ' llI Ylll il11 S, llnd ItHln,Y othc rs who Clune to tiltfor(' during Ihe 1990s, De Keyser docs not take pholograph s as 11 poin t or dc parture, 1101' docs he use Ih('ltI liS an aicl. The photograp h ic character is ('Iltin:ly ilchieved thl'Ough Ihe thin eilluision s of paillt and the suggestion of blurring through 1lI0\'Clll en t. InSlctHl of lhe ' homeless repn:seni.alion' 1)1' lilt' work of I ~idller or l'uymans, the In the mill-logos, lJe Kt'yser also made a series of paintings with a s raphk dimension unusual fOl' him. ¥el thi s calJisraphie clernelH , w hit'h S OlIll' limcs belli'S II rchlliol1 to Bri ee Milrdt~ I1 '~ IllOrt~ rc<.."C nl work, is 1IIso IInl cl1tirely lleW; it recalls lht: wh imsicil l llBHt' I"IlS of re rtain works fmlll lhe mid11)805, such as Unfilled (1[}85) or 7.,~~' I'lior P 6 (Si.t: jor P. /'S , 1{)85-86), or lh t' trca tmenl of Iht' Illonkey !luzzlt' Iree, II does nOl , by iHl.V Hla llllCl' 01' I1leans, forl1l lhe fOUlictatinll s fut' II lale Expl"t·ssiollism. Fm' De Keyser , the line does 110t hc,II' the Ilower alld c neq;y oflh e pet'sollll'ho (IreII' it , as lIelll',. vall de VeldI.' o twe dailllcd, bu l l'lays UpOIi Ilw surrounding colour ]lImIt's iJncllayc rs paint. I)r;nving Cil l1 or he s pOll lancous one lllUllle nl alld ex tremely h esitant the next. In neilhl.'l· clIse can it he regarded as part of a prccise, pl'cdelefilli ncd st1'llC'lure, 1101' as 11 ('n n SCII" C1H'e of pdllil/l'e (HlIOIII(/liqll(~ . Th~~ line comes, like the IJroacl h l 'ushst roke .~ of the midIgBoS, fl'Omlile Iwnd and br ush and nol from 111(' gul a r ht' <lrl. Any rCllw ining pathos is hlo cked 'r-' /)mll ';III(, 11)7-1 hl~ " " 1)11111'1', 'II \ 19 em Sl"'~\'f"" /WM. 'liN 1.~ Ilh'n'~ lOr "'"1'-".<(III'r) I",) " .''''''IIIhl,'(I "n "'IIMI , ,I" ~ 4" 1'111 si nce Ili ese lilll'1Ir signs oneil pro"i<il' IlIl: h1lsis a grid Sll'ut'l,un' whkh, as I\osalincl Krauss has ror (ICllltlll Sil'lIled, l',\ llelly cOlllil'l1ls lilt' aulunomy or the dOll min (If I1rl. ~! Through Iheir nllt, geometric, I"ennings ill Ilt'w l'Onll'xls ilnd t'xHlltining ll1 e lll againsl eVer- Ill'\\' fom l "l probLclII S, 7hlllsfaled 1J.l' AlIlIlIbei How/and (Amsterdam) onlel'ed SII'lICllll'l'S, grid s arc, 10 uSt! Krallss's \\'OI'ds, anti- natural, anli-mimelk llnd lInli-I't'al. \Vhal is ilion' , lht' grid appeared eMlier in nt· Keyser's tlel/m't': in Ihe paint ings hased 011 the goal lIel (J97!l); in Stllllt' dnlwings of '074, whieh are (>"ul'l1live of Al:lllcs MarLiJl; 01' in Iht, l'olllhinaliollS Ill' made in 1!l74 lIsillg various s mulll:;lIl vases willi din-erelll SUp p(lI ' I.~, I II c()IlLnl.~1 10 Ihese 'i\'lillimal ' works of 111(' 1~)7I! S, lhe rece-1l 1 painlings demons trale jll ,~1 a sla1'l , iI ske-It'll, 11 sliggeslioll til' H gl'id: Ihe y{'lIow, in Jllllres lumpy, 1lIlI'i%ollla l sl'I'a tt'hes in fo:. I'I)t'ciitiulJ (1995), Ihe winl'-red Jllllrhy IIn t~s in I.ok (Decoy, 1995), Ihl' Iwo %ig%ag pal1CI'IIS in f(/(1111 (Clammy, 1!195) , 1he pilliling ill C/USI'f';" I (1008), 01' Ih e Venelinlll)lill{l s ill Clilserir. V (1008), Tht' lilles of Iht'st' Ili sl works inlilledialely rO('11111ht' grid ill Ihe l'orln of1wrriPrs or fenees, .I'l~l also contain l'cI'erellecs It) I()('ks OJ' door'kllobs. This rnolif ulsn I'efe!'s hack III l'ill'Iiel' works ~ parli(:ulurly Ihe door 01' win dow pitOn:s Ile Ki'YSN regLilarly painll'd al Ihe hegiJlllillg (If his ;II'lisl;(: l:<lrt':t'l" for exa mpk Ihl' arOl't:nwlIl iOlled f)eurkJillk (1964-65). Th is I)l'IIvidcs Ihe lJlIll)leClllh example uf Iht" wily nt, Keyser's /)/',11/"." h;I ,~ grown and c"olVt'd lh l'u ugh l'lJt1 SIHII!l y I,,,ki ll !:> lip old lIIolifs, remlcrlng Il l'W CII. 110 CIIL 11», ill p.1I6 cal.7O!I, 722, III, p,61 CBt 726, IIl.p.68 eat 728,730,738 ilt p. 12 48 STI';V t; N J ACOnS I. MI..t,;,t'I F,-i ,'d. " <11111111 Ohll't-1 hOlOl.r.ln Go,'!''',), lk'll'~M'k (" ,1.). lIIil/im,,/ , I/"/. , I C/'i/lml ;lIIlh,,/"/O', Ikrl\clcy (.g6/!) 'W,·,. 111'·1,1;-47; ~lidlll"1 l" 'i ,-d, : lb.''''ptioll fUIII t '/wni,-Im/if,)': I'lliul/II/f '111ft lJelwillrl' il! lilt' , I,&rtl 'if J)id~'¥II, 1\('rk.'Il'Y 1980; ilnd Mi clllll'l Vlkd, CO III'IJ(I '$ lIcu/i!uu, Chil'llp:11 lind JAunlnn ~. '911"'. 'IS- 111"10.. n·(l"",'./l11I1111 Ik 11(',' '''''1'. MIIS"IIII' Illulillh. ~.I- 1I1"",II)(-IiI:1':<1"; IIUdrr 1Y71>-/~7,t \'xhlhlll"" \'1111111'11"" ~.). $,,"-'-" Jnmbs, ' 11110111 1)(' KI'Yse'- 0 '005' Tdrolofl."i e IlII(I in IImwl Ik /l r)7'(': Sr:IIi/tfrtijtlll99J. nhihiliull ";,[1111'11'''' ~IHIII\A. ,I"I"',"-p '!I!l7, PI, ..~9~1. :;. 1',,,'\11., imp(> .. l,,"('l' ,n I)" "".I'SI'l" "rll,,· c.<hihiliolls In Ill(' SI('(il"lilk ,\111."'1"11 lI, srnc l'"IIl,ul ufll1.· ronfro!Hnliu!l wllil IIH' WI)I'k or AI 11.'11.1 In p;u1lc,Lla,', see Iluolil l)c Kryser, lk~nll",n"', ~. I·~hihilio" I:".nlogu.- Groningt"r Mus!".!!n, Groningl'lI: 11;11$lIlllstlllll, I lnllr!o::lIl; (\'ool1lh.':lbIl11l5 r. ll t~II IIl, '~ . II("1ug('nh"sd, I!l7U, l1.Jl. 1"1'1111,' ,I, ~8, T h is Wll~ 1I0Iiel:(1 b)' J,'nll Clny ill 'I~, pl'illllll'" I:n "'wl'lli,", in 'I)o,<slt-.- IIl'II1I1I1', Mllt ulll , y", C"III/1i1'lr Ilrillll!f$ 19J9-"'lJ. ll u1irn~ untl New York '9'1::i, 1'1 •. II:I I ~. S<:'" Hlso 1I1,,'h!I"" I liI ~kdl, /Jon(lld hllM. Wlillne )' M"~,,t"l1 "r ,\,n.-Ikn n A11. Ne w Yurk I" ns~odiltiu" wilh W.W, '-":ol'hm &; Com llllllY. N,'w York Rnd 1,,(11111011 11)88.11.1" , 8. 1\,'",... GI;,srr, 'O"'~~liu"s In Sl eH:1 nntl Jluld·.lIrl ""fIN, ~ 5- Scpl (' IUbt" ' ,g66, 1II'·M-6' · g. nulllllli Jooris, 'Dc Nit·",,"t' Visi.,', t\!1I1wmiullrtl(lul. 1!IIJ7.P, 4.j· ,n, Cle"wlIl {)1" ..,'l1ll1·I·!', 'Allt'I' Ah.<II'll('1 EX J)r~~slu nl sm' I 'J,~, (l glb), ;n O·IIt;!!Il . "11.('iLlnol .. -I I. J11"'21 -5~ II . Iluiund Jo"';~' 'Uil lllijn Ilill.'list'l1 loghoe~ bii 110'1 \\'e r k ';'n lIaoulllt· Kt·y!>t· ," .11I Illwllllx 1iC)'ul' 19]9-''}8;. ~ I"srum· r",[( IS \';111 1It'I .'o.linlSll'rk ,',m (j~ Vlm"llse Genlernsl'llllp, 1II'llssri s 1\)&1. PP,1-II, SI't' IIlsu JlJl , 711-8u or Ihls IIOOk. IllIIIlIllk Kl',rst'l: 1'.~lIihiliOll ('al,dogue (Jr(lllilll\t'n ellll, Inuh·ll · '5- 1'",,1 \'rk~. ·l\on.lolII (it- w t" l'k(·lijkl1<"ld·.In Ihld. " I- Iluouilk II")"S,,,: t·x hihlli.lIl <';oI;olo e u,' Grul1;I1!!'cn flol. Illn(~ IJI)I~, .51. I."ot'~, KUSIH'I· li.llllill ;11101 Ull'il'll IVUIIIl'~. 1lI ll'I>lhl<'liol1, In Il(l(ml fx f{r,l's(I: exhihi1i"11 ~"I;'logtll' KUOl SlllUllt' Hem IIIUI I'Ol11 kus JlI'ItukfuI1 1001, Pll.7-8, 16. nullind JllI,,·is. in Ihe 11tIt'1tl ·1I.. el'n·lde 'JQklll·. '.'S, Uh'I,' h 11, I'aul lluhhrc('hl . 'l'IIllIling5 Tt''''llIlI';u'ily Lt";U1illjl: "s."insl 11 \\'nll".I" ('shibiliull 1"l lillojl:ll\' IIt'l'll 111[(1 F";ulkrtIt1 11l"1'·15I ,PII.~, 11'1. cr. SIt'I" ·U JII('Hhs, //ill'k,; In ,I,'('hil"rl,/I'r, l'ollll1o/Jlnr('/u .f 1li1(lr /JUfll/. Ght'lIlloo/:I. Il.5-f. '9. 11,,1;11111 l'altN'lIw ('I\moul IJ.· Ke),....' r 7,(JntJt' r kUlllpkk$l,'" jl:t'i'"!(lljl:(',,,~1 ",..1 h('1 Ic"''' ~ml ,,1I1·tln!!·. ":IY~Mi..J..5, ,I. ::;"pll'llIlwr 196fjj. r"" t'~(I"'JlI", drHws n link h""wc,'u Ih,· III",,, I,OSt·s IIntllJtl' w"l'k orCIII!'.' OI(I (· "h"I'!!. "". Th"I1",'" IKIX",S "'t'H SUI'1; .. ilh(·,' ElO _~ '5<' ~ ~5 I'm UI' Ir,,1 ~ '5<' s 15 ,·tn. ~ I . ';"1' :1 I hl'VI,'I;,.;.1 tJ IM'u$$lvn Or Iht' IIullun of s~:ilk In \1.11".,;,1 '\11. M'" Frnlll~'~ Colj,ilt, Mi"blt(,/ .. lrl. "/1'r Crili('f,1 1""';fII('('lio'r, ,1111' ,\1'11111' ulld I~HUI"1l ' flO", PII. 7l-1l'F Ilu: '1'",11111.. " ('m ill '1",111)' Sill ill I is 011 P,17, ~2, KIIIl'it'lI l1chlJclillt'k, 'Illmlil Dt' K.,.\·sl'l', W"l'k,'" up d.... k 11.t6,}-'Ij/!5·. (;('1//.((' IJij(1/1'~rll /101 cI.. lill'll!ll(u('/lirlirlli•• rl/ Oll/lh ..iIU,ul/cI... "01. 'l9- '!I!I"'"1J'. pp. 16,""11). 'm/:!. St·,: IIlso 1'\'\'.,II"in !'{lill lilll/ l1.< Mlldd, Cum hrid!,-c (Mll s~.) nlld lAHul"" '001'. P·224· ~O. "u· 1~. l)jl , I4-71.'·5J1,PJ1·~ (11)60), in Julill ()'lJ l'li,n (,'d,), (;lrlll('''1 (i1'f'cllbr,'lJ, 'Olr Co/lrrlrd f.;ISI~I"S ((lId (;rilic#m. Chkago nUll Londoll lfl!lJ. "01. 4.PI),85-1I:;; (Illoit' :1, Ihlll" l .,I!,;j, U,Thi ....l'y tI .. Il""" 'The I>lol1od ' .... nnll Ihe III"nk c:llnv;'~·, in s..'I '~{' C"lIhllul (rt1.)./kNJII,'lI'IlI'lilJ;l /II()(/rI1lI$IU. An III Nrw !ill'''', f'ud<, (jIUlll/uul,rall94J-I¢-I. Quub" idj:t: (1'01"».) /11111 LtIlHloll '990.111). 144-1'0; (IUOle P·l,11, 7, Cr. 1)",1;Ihl Judd, 'Slll"dlk O hjr<1s'. in I)"'HlJd Judd, Il-t-I,"i ~t'ilt!s IIJus, Colol;ll<' lmll, ",P, "",1 Cnssitmlll. 'Fllrh~,u stnll(lt' '"on Il.1lJl,1 II,. K/·ys<·I'·. i ll (,'u illflwllr fljjl.1m' I ~/'('f1(Y$..cr, I.ili Oil}'''''';" /Imlll/ fk I\r,''3r.I: ,·dlihilioll,·;,IJloj(u" K"IIS1I1;,lIt· linn 11)86, PI •. 1)'_11" . S" t· "I!'<> pp. !l.I-IlIl " r ! II is II",,~. I)., lin ,'C(', "P, !'iI, Ino,,' ·J51 . Ull'it'i, IAII ... k, 'SIISIH"II51" n or 1';,illli1l jl:" ill 1I1II",llk 11(""'1"; ... ~ h ihUi,," t'lIll1lugll<' K""SIIlI' I.~'·I"" , 1,111"'1'",· ,~, -no Jnnlb~. "p.dl. 1'1(>1"'11, Ch'llH~ n l Grt'rllbCl'e' ' M"d~'I'nisl I'liinlille' 1),87, Ilh ll('IlCIlS, IX·url.· 1I}66, 11.1'. 1\0 1;111,1 Juul'i s, ' Io;i"" "it'iII ' lIufdri llljlldll' IIlll''',< illll', i i, 1\"1;,,,11 Jool'is In {lm",1 0(' f(r)':ftt: Ik,"'IIII(,/);'",,,.il('I,. /fie/llml n"dr. "I,Hip//(' 1,111 SIIIr/,· . •,.• hiltitlu" " ;'I:.I"!!,,., 1>11I~l'''''' 'nn I l t·d,·"tI;"'jl:S~ KUllst , (;]1('111 Ifnll, p. IJ. 3' •. IllIou11l,' K" yse l\ N il/I< I/ajlll". '7). D.·ill 7.I' I07~. 31 I';x hlhilloll ";III,\ul;'''' GI"'''I I!l78 1"",,· ~!JI, 1'· ' ''i, ,? Illri\'h I..t>()('k, 'Ei " e l'rohl" lI l1ll1 k dcs 0(1(·s'. iu ~~ hihill on t·!,wloj:u,· KUlIslh;.lle 11,·,'11 'QI:I6 l u "I" ~, I'J,.I(/l-" ; {'sP' I" " lO"-<~ Vn ll ~lldllm-s, 'Il,' M: hlhlcl'k\l Il ,~1 VlU l IIIIIIull),' 1i" YSt:r : .:t' " V I'IIII I!~ I"k z"nllcr ,knull;",',' "I'lussin!(', I" /l'IIIIII/}( :n . Willi lil')'$("; "xhibilion "n!nlolllll' ICC, Anlwt'rp 11)110'. lI ,p_ St'" nls<> 1111,74-;11 Ihls h.~.k, Olhl'O' .-rilit:s w,'n' lul,'r III <' lllll h:.sll(,· Ihis "Sj){'('I, II III;UI...• Ihro"l;h !'lUll<' "f!he lill<'s i~ 1~" '{'lI l inl!: ' IIm",I!)1' K"ys~.·. "'\vijfd won ll k"iI('h, ' ( 1)"lIht 1Jl" '{)n1t'~ str"n glh: I.,ul" lh-kl",f"S. ill f(IIIW/)~rld, Ot.:lol!t"r 11)0,)<1) : 'II t' l """,'(h'l'l Vii " tit' Iwijld. Clmln',,1 I\;ouul "r 1)(' K~ y~t'l '~ sd liltll'rk"'I ~I ' (Th,' II-C ll dil or 1111' (1""IlI, On Ih,' IJ;""II ,,~ " r 11I,,,,,ll>t· K,'y~ ,~ 11,,':11 II" 11-0.0,." Jllik 11;11.. nll/if,~, '-":uwm llt' " 'wI): 'Ut: mclhtKlisdu- I"'ijfel \"Jill JI.1t1ull)(·lil'}s,'r' (Til t' m,'lhutli<' dOllhl or 1\""111 [)(' K" YI<l" ~ I\un"hl VRll lit- SIII"p"I, ill fx II/"'~m, I o\1","<'h IIIf)I); '\IPt'~ I " I' villi hel III'... t·I«'II, lI el SI'hlhl"I"'1I VIlli II"oul Ik 1\l'YS<' I' \'1"Tijk ! ",Oeit in 1·"I"~,· lI r,,lillj(. ~;e ll It'nltHlIlSI<'Jljnjl: in lk,',,' (0\10151(:1' uf d.·lIherllli"" ,,.; lJ ~r Klly k. ·" III iiI/lirA'. 'Jj'J Mil) 'W ,). ";'''"'''1:('''" :><1, 11"lnull JUflris i n ,·x hihili .." (;h"nl If.." l'IfIll' 'J91. II. lJ . .~. Dh'k Dc Vus, /lm",1 Or I\~'UI: Mlllm rily Sl,,.ic~ I'I<~I-Ir.). ";f'Ij keuU' ' ~)(Jr 11<:1 (;.-"<:I/;'J!f'·11"' ."·,,,,, ,,' fi,.,,~r, A.~I"IlI' 11)/itI, lI.p, ,)6, cr, Jnt'Oh~. Up, cit . 111011'11, 51. Iwls. "p.";1. In..l .. ,al· ,58. IlIltl .. P·151· 5<). I'llilll' Jiislll'l'. ,l laklll!f lllU/I-;/Trll'ill!f , I.-I. Ab,r/('I'II I lmr"il'llll 1111 iI/II CuIU"'/, I!f/llIl...."IIIS. N('w Yu)'k alld O.\I'OI'1l1!)9I, 1 1'.1,1'1-:17, ' -10 , Ilt, \ '(18, "11,dl.l"n"· Vii. 'II. 1\",,1.<' 101 liS I'H)'li,'r roo'I II, "III IIIl'tJ 1'.('$ ,'111,,· I~. i Ilusl n.I,·d III /I",,,,llJr Ii~y"",· Wl'rl',lo'tj, MIIS"lIntr"lllls "lUI IWI Minisle)'I,' vlIIlll.· VI"""lS(' G,·"w('II.<d,np, nl'lls~rL< 1!}tlII, (1.<\5, ,po CJ: Sit'\ell Jm·oh._, '1..("·I 'v llu'hll'll hy n"'JlJIIl,' K('Y!lCr ', III IlmlllllJr. A't'j"'~1: 1.{"('1'lu('lfIefl'lj9r''IY-I. 1",~h i bitiOfl I'nu.lo,:"c· 1'\1;\11\. O~I('lId 1005. 1111.1~5- {·sP·IIII. 71:1-79. 45- 0.' \,,,~. () 11. ~'il. In"l.. ~I· '14. J' KII'I~. "p,cit. Inuit' II I, .x·t· ilL.!) l'I'.1f1·li" (I f !h l~ .'KKI~. 45. cr, Willlll lul S~'Il~"I-S. '(;~'lkluilkl'l'dt'IJI's lw,'~illfl' \,lUI 11"'(' do ck!' '' ', ill limmll)~ Kc,!"'r,' I'IN-'',Io'\j, "11. dt. II"'''' 411, JlJl.,5I ....Y1. ,,6. Ounnltl K",'II;t, 'Thl' N .. w (7) 1·;"J>"·S.'l io,,iMn: " 11 ns '!!H'. D,1I1HlII,·1t (;'M"I!", I../Jimllll. '\""('11111<,' .. Il'llr. in I)"u;,hl !iusl,il. '/1""\ .. ,,, S"bj~dil>j.<III. , 1'1 ill tI,.. ,y/4#, '\'t"\\' "uri( I9'J~ PII.~,I.K .7. 1\"lnll(l J"cJri.~ iu 11(1111110.. 1i(')':II"'" (',\'hlhi l loll <'I'l;,lultlll" 1I"lhlln)' ' 9, I tiMirlf("u '90'!8. 1'1" '4- 17. J.8. mrk Dr \,,,~, 'Th,·lIn.\I"IM !'",fI1<1' I\lul S.'nl"ll Col"urf\lIIl~~~ ill 1\;"'111 D~ K,'ysl'I" S 1.101'" B"l','1I1 IIUI'k', in ,',\'hll)ll;"" ('illnh'II:II., tillllsihalit' fI~I'n ;11111 I'Ul1ikiis Fl'lUlHII,'1 II}!)' . pp ,lil-H,. S,'" "I,'" IIp.Kllwl~' "I' Ihi~ h"nk. ~9. ',no It'itl. j\drlnu :;"111'11', Unllflll/III. I'''$.• i/lili(ir.< ill I'ailflill/l, ,'xh thlll'IIl ";I(I,luj(IIl' 11:1)'\\';'1'(1 (;nlh' ry, 1.111111"11 1001, 11. ,j./!. 51. R"lwrtn Sillilh. '1\;",,,1 Ill' K"ySt'r', 77" Nrll l I'm* ·/'ilrlr~. 7.\111'11 '1193,1,.'1'" S.... III"" IJ,Do·llIrlhl.~ IHH' !;., ;).I. 1\o~1,lin" Eo K n" l.~s. n.r O';~;II,,'il)' 'ifl/i<"hvlIl/.l;rl/ylr fwd Oll'tr MII~/rl'lliil Jllj1/i,<, CIIIUhrillji;I' (Muss,) lliul l AII"hm I~ PI,,8-'n,