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
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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
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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')'$("; "xhibilion "n!nlolllll' ICC, Anlwt'rp 11)110'. lI ,p_ St'"
nls<> 1111,74-;11
Ihls h.~.k, Olhl'O' .-rilit:s w,'n' lul,'r III
<' lllll h:.sll(,· Ihis "Sj){'('I, II III;UI...• Ihro"l;h !'lUll<' "f!he lill<'s
i~ 1~" '{'lI l inl!: ' IIm",I!)1' K"ys~.·. "'\vijfd won ll k"iI('h, '
( 1)"lIht 1Jl" '{)n1t'~ str"n glh: I.,ul" lh-kl",f"S. ill f(IIIW/)~rld,
Ot.:lol!t"r 11)0,)<1) : 'II t' l """,'(h'l'l Vii " tit' Iwijld. Clmln',,1 I\;ouul
"r
1)(' K~ y~t'l '~ sd liltll'rk"'I ~I ' (Th,' II-C ll dil or 1111' (1""IlI, On
Ih,' IJ;""II ,,~ " r 11I,,,,,ll>t· K,'y~ ,~ 11,,':11 II" 11-0.0,." Jllik
11;11.. nll/if,~, '-":uwm llt' " 'wI): 'Ut: mclhtKlisdu- I"'ijfel
\"Jill JI.1t1ull)(·lil'}s,'r' (Til t' m,'lhutli<' dOllhl or 1\""111 [)('
K" YI<l" ~ I\un"hl VRll lit- SIII"p"I, ill fx II/"'~m, I o\1","<'h
IIIf)I); '\IPt'~ I " I' villi hel III'... t·I«'II, lI el SI'hlhl"I"'1I VIlli II"oul
Ik 1\l'YS<' I' \'1"Tijk ! ",Oeit in 1·"I"~,· lI r,,lillj(. ~;e ll
It'nltHlIlSI<'Jljnjl: in lk,',,' (0\10151(:1' uf d.·lIherllli"" ,,.; lJ ~r
Klly k. ·" III iiI/lirA'. 'Jj'J Mil) 'W ,).
";'''"'''1:('''"
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(;h"nl If.." l'IfIll' 'J91.
II. lJ .
.~. Dh'k Dc Vus, /lm",1 Or I\~'UI: Mlllm rily Sl,,.ic~ I'I<~I-Ir.). ";f'Ij
keuU' ' ~)(Jr 11<:1 (;.-"<:I/;'J!f'·11"' ."·,,,,, ,,' fi,.,,~r, A.~I"IlI' 11)/itI,
lI.p,
,)6, cr, Jnt'Oh~. Up, cit . 111011'11,
51. Iwls. "p.";1. In..l .. ,al·
,58. IlIltl .. P·151·
5<). I'llilll' Jiislll'l'. ,l laklll!f lllU/I-;/Trll'ill!f , I.-I. Ab,r/('I'II I lmr"il'llll
1111 iI/II CuIU"'/, I!f/llIl...."IIIS. N('w Yu)'k alld O.\I'OI'1l1!)9I,
1 1'.1,1'1-:17,
'
-10 , Ilt, \ '(18, "11,dl.l"n"·
Vii.
'II. 1\",,1.<' 101 liS I'H)'li,'r roo'I II, "III IIIl'tJ 1'.('$ ,'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<,' ..
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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
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