NEW YORK, NY.- Luc Tuymans (b.1958, Belgium) has changed the course of contemporary art, influencing an entire generation of figurative painters with his cryptic imagery and muted palette. Produced in close collaboration with the artist, LUC TUYMANS: IS IT SAFE? (Phaidon Press, November 2010, $69.95/ $79.95 CAN) presents more than 100 new paintings, all made since 2004 and many never before published. The publication offers intriguing new insights into the work of one of the world’s most gifted and visionary painters.

Beginning with Les Cinq Anneaux and concluding with Against the Day, Tuymans produced a landmark suite of seven thematically linked bodies of work. With a visual narrative that traces the philosophical and psychic roots of contemporary civilization, they interweave a range of photographic sources — from St Peter’s Basilica to Disneyland to the Big Brother house — that together tell the banal and terrifying story of our times. LUC TUYMANS: IS IT SAFE? supplements these paintings with source photographs, preparatory drawings and installation views, all in full color.

Introducing each body of work is a text written by the artist, while the essay “Tuymans, Loyola, Leibniz,” specially commissioned from Mexican artist Pablo Sigg, provides historical and philosophical context. “Proper,” an essay by Belgian art historian Gerrit Vermeiren, looks at one body of work in detail, tracing the themes of each painting and capturing the cultural atmosphere of the moment in which they were produced. An extensive interview by Belgian artist Tommy Simoens offers further insight into Tuymans’ thinking and motivations.

Tuymans has been creating iconic works of contemporary painting for nearly three decades. With their acute compositions and modulated colours, these works are moving and unmistakable. Together their chilling tableaux represent a new milestone in the history of painting.

An exhibition of works by Luc Tuymans opens at David Zwirner on Novermber 6

Authors
Luc Tuymans is currently the subject of a major traveling retrospective, co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. Also exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art, it is currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (October 2, 2010 – January 9, 2011) and will next travel to Bozar Centre for Fine Arts (Palais des Beaux-Arts) in Brussels. Previously his work has been featured in solo exhibitions at major museums such as Tate Modern in London and Moderna Museet in Malmö. In 2001 he represented Belgium at the Venice Biennale, and his works are featured in the collections of prominent institutions worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich and the Tate in London.

Pablo Sigg is an artist and writer based in Mexico City.

Tommy Simoens is an artist based in Antwerp.

Gerrit Vermeiren is an artist, art historian and writer based in Antwerp.

Contents
• Full-color reproductions of over 100 of the artist's most recent paintings
• An introduction by Pablo Sigg and Tommy Simoens
• Seven short texts by the artist
• Essay by Pablo Sigg: “Tuymans, Loyola, Leibniz”
• Essay by Gerrit Vermeiren: “Proper”
• Interview by Tommy Simoens: “Forever”
• Extensive collection of source imagery and installation photographs
• Up-to-date exhibition history
• Index

Title Information
Title Luc Tuymans: Is It Safe?
Contributors Luc Tuymans, Pablo Sigg, Gerrit Vermeiren, Tommy Simoens
ISBN 978 0 7148 5603 2
Extent 224 pages
Retail Price $69.96/ $79.95 CAN
Binding Hardback
Publication Date November 2010
Illustrations 180 color illustrations
Size 11 3/8 x 9 7/8 inches