Marlene Dumas on Simplicity, Eroticism, and the Body

In a 2005 interview with Massimiliano Gioni, Marlene Dumas discusses her artistic practice, existential themes, and the tension between painting and photography. Born in 1953 on a farm in South Africa, she studied ethics at the University of Cape Town in 1972 before moving to the Netherlands in 1976. Dumas describes painting as a way to discover herself, emphasizing the physical act of mark-making over mechanical reproduction. She rejects the notion that her female subjects are victims, instead focusing on passion and revelation. Her work deliberately uses minimal means—faded colors, simple forms—to confront mortality, violence, and desire. Dumas notes that a painting should never be fully finished but continue to breathe. Recent exhibitions include shows at Centre Georges Pompidou, New Museum of Contemporary Art, and Kunsthalle Helsinki.