Starting March 22, the first retrospective of Dutch artist Dora Tuynman (1920-1979) will open at Museum Cobra. The exhibition is a retrospective and tribute to one of the most underexposed Dutch female artists of the 20th century. Museum Cobra shows her artistic development from her early figurative landscapes to her later abstract works and includes many works never before presented to the public.
About Dora Tuynman
In the 1950s, Tuynman lived and worked in the famous Parisian warehouse and studio building on Rue Santeuil where artists such as Karel Appel, Corneille, Lotti van der Gaag and Bram Bogart also worked. Tuynman was relatively successful in Paris, but once back in the Netherlands was unable to match this success. Like so many female artists of the twentieth century, Tuynman fell into oblivion, consciously or unconsciously pushed aside by art history focused on male artists.
Bold and completely individual
Tuynman’s work is bold, daring, entirely her own and evolves nicely. At the beginning of her career her work is figurative with many landscapes, but in Paris these images of nature become more and more abstract, culminating in paintings that lack any reference to visible nature. Later when she returned to the Netherlands, her work became figurative again. In addition to landscapes, Tuynman then paints portrait studies, which she calls her “dolls.”
The exhibition
Dora Tuynman – Paris, New York, Amsterdam is the first retrospective showing the full development in Tuynman’s oeuvre. The exhibition not only provides an overview of her career, but also shows personal and artistic struggles Tuynman went through. This creates a complete picture of this artist, giving insight into both her work and her life. The exhibition is curated by guest curator Pim Arts.
With Dora Tuynman – Paris, New York, Amsterdam, visitors to Museum Cobra can finally get to know a great and important artist of the 20th century.
