M (M1)
1992
Sculpture, 54 x 200 x 155 cm.
Materials: wood, gypsum, blue glass, white pigment
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK006023).
We recognise a piano as a musical instrument, but the artist only shows the illusion that we make of it ourselves. The piano is not only unplayable; it is not even a piano. It is only there in a formal sense, as a psychic gestalt that confounds the viewer. The reflective blue surface that lies on top of the piano, subverting its piano-ness, reflects the surroundings of the museum and every curious gaze. Luc Tuymans points to the whitewashed purity of this silent composition, which is disturbed by the brutality of the blue glass. The piano is placed freestanding on the floor, between the vertical fire drawings of Tretiakoff and the stately Caravaggio.
Text: Hans Willemse
Translations: Michael Meert