Marlene Dumas Retrospective Opens at Palazzo Grassi in Venice

Palazzo Grassi in Venice will host a major retrospective of South African artist Marlene Dumas from March 27, 2022, to January 8, 2023. Curated by Caroline Bourgeois, the exhibition features 100 works spanning from 1984 to the present, including pieces from collections, museums, and recent unpublished works. Dumas, born in Cape Town in 1953, grew up under apartheid and moved to Amsterdam in 1976, where she still lives and works. She represented the Netherlands at the 1995 Venice Biennale. Her work, primarily oil on canvas and ink on paper, focuses on portraits as universal representations of human emotions, often sourced from newspapers, magazines, film stills, and her own Polaroids. Her motto is "second-hand images and first-hand emotions." The exhibition is part of a cycle of solo shows dedicated to major contemporary artists that began in 2012, alternating with thematic exhibitions from the Pinault Collection. Dumas's work was previously included in Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana shows such as "Untitled" (2020), "Prima Materia" (2013-15), and earlier exhibitions.