Raoul De Keyser

OOSTENDE (TORNADO), 1981

• Raoul De Keyser (°1930, België)
• oil on canvas
• 34.9 x 29.9 cm

‘I don't want to become the 'pretty' painter … Ultimately I want to paint ruthlessly.’ – Raoul de Keyser

Largely self-taught painter Raoul de Keyser created paintings that were inspired by American abstract art but nonetheless rooted in his everyday life in provincial Belgium. His oeuvre had a profound impact on an entire generation of Belgian painters, including the likes of Luc Tuymans. Expressive, sometimes painterly and understatedly gestural, his works tread the boundaries between figuration and abstraction, and despite their humble, muted palettes and bare mark-making are loaded with inherent energy. Garnering significant interest in recent years, his legacy as a ‘painter’s painter’ is cemented in his rich, nuanced compositions. Painted in 1981, Oostende (Tornado) exemplifies his subtle artistic vocabulary whilst effortlessly encapsulating the atmosphere and essence of his native province.

‘If you talk to 10 painters, probably 7 of those painters will start talking about Raoul De Keyser.’ Hanna Schouwink, David Zwirner