26 Apr DENNIS TYFUS ‘S TATTOOED TEARS OF JOY
When you decide to visit an artspace, you fully embrace the possibility of the artworks eliciting certain emotions from you, be it fear, angst, excitement, sadness or pure joy. I often wonder if it’s my love for art that makes me leave all my problems at the door when I enter an exhibition, or is it just that some artists are that good to completely shift ours moods and outlook on life through their works. There’s something truly spectacular when you encounter an artwork that makes you smile in awe, but the occurrence of some actually bringing out a laughter is truly rare and invaluable. It takes a different breed of artist to embrace humour unconditionally and still mantain fundamentally serious subject matters and Dennis Tyfus successfully manages this fragile balance.
Last year we only travelled to exhibitons in Romania, and although it was an amazing year for the Romanian art scene ( let’s not forget the Art Encounters Biennale, Victor Brauner and Constantin Brancusi Retrospectives, the Ioana Nemes exhibition) I was also yearning to visit some museums and galleries I haven’t seen before. At the beginning of March I went to Belgium for three days to help my partner settle into his new home for the next few months. I was not only anxious, but really depressed, as I couldn’t imagine doing long distance after all these years of constantly living together. Just as we arrived in Belgium, I found myself eager to finish with the accommodation arrangements as soon as possible, so I could catch at least half a day in Antwerp and Bruxelles.
On Friday, we took the train to Antwerp and I quickly drew a list of art galleries to visit, without checking beforehand the shows on view. I decided we’d start with the Tim Van Laere Gallery as it seemed in the most southern part. The moment we arrived in the “New South” I was hooked. You have quite a vast park and then you enter the block, it’s still a developing area, but I loved that most of these new buildings have 4 or 5 floors at best.
When I first saw the gallery, I thought how incredible my life would be to live in a neighborhood where you always have contemporary art easier to access than a grocery store. The space integrates perfectly with the rest of the buildings, but I also chose to include the next photo because it will be relevant later on. What also stunned me was the fact that on a regular Friday at noon we found the gallery packed with people (the same goes for the other art spaces that followed).
Therefore, I had been walking through a beautiful city, in a chic neighborhood and I was now entering an extraordinary exhibition space. At this point I was wondering if anything could go even better. Enter Dennis Tyfus ‘s Tattooed Tears of Joy.
I love contemporary drawing, and I sometimes find it more challenging than oil painting. That being said, although I am a fan of this medium, the few other times I’ve seen drawings of this large dimensions was in Adrian Ghenie ‘s exhibition I wrote about at Frieze London and the one in Timisoara last year and Ana Maria Micu ‘s Left Hand To Distant View. It’s always an impressive experience because beside having an outstanding scene unfold on a vast surface, I also think of the fragility of the paper. There was an initial shock upon discovering the works were actually drawings, followed by my astonishment at the technique Dennis Tyfus employs in creating them.
Similar to the way that grandeur and frailty coexist in a vast paper drawing, the universe depicted by Dennis Tyfus is a masterful convergence of significant concerns and astute humour. All the framed works in the show include self portraits of the artist, going through outlandish situations and ponderings. I have written many times before how artists who choose witty titles for their works have a special place in my heart. Therefore, just when I thought I had processed everything a scene had to offer, I would see the title and my smile would appear once again. He even has an artwork in the show Untitled Untitled, I’ll Show Them Untitled! which brought back all the memories when I would see a painting, I’d love it and want to write its name down, only to find out it was fittingly titled Untitled.
He also contemplates on the status of painting on multiple occasions throughout the show, I still can’t stop thinking of the That One Teacher That Truly Understands You which portrays a student drawing a completely different picture than the one he had in mind, while being influenced by his teacher. Nobody: Every Painter is one of my favorite drawings of the show, maybe you could get a sense of irony towards painters and their struggle, but what it reminded me of was the solitude you live with when you paint or draw. My job is based on collaboration and consulting the guidelines in place so it’s hard to imagine having a blank canvas where you make all the rules and take all the decisions.
Right next to Who Said Painting Is Dead? there was my new favorite still life, Hardcore Still Life. Where is the self portrait of the artist in this one, you might ask yourself. Look closer at the happy ham.
What a magnificent contemporary drawing show you would think after seeing all these artworks in one place, and yet it’s so much more than that. Because Dennis Tyfus ‘s artistic practice can’t be reduced to just mindblowing scenarios drawn in great technique. Music is just as much an integral part of his life. He has been a permanent fixture at Radio Centraal for years, producing a weekly program which grants him liberty to experiment with music and improvisation. He also released LPs under his audiolabel Ultra Eczema. The name also encompasses all the activities that form his artistic practice. In this show, the main space featured A Rotating Threesome in the middle of the room, an installation constituted by three bronze bells which you suddenly feel the urge to head to. This invitation to create your own music can also lead to you forming an impromptu band with the other visitors of the gallery. I kept thinking how there was an unique way in which I experienced the show, with the music in the background. Had I visited another hour or another day, I would have had a completely different soundtrack playing, all provided by fellow art lovers such as myself.
Just as you thought you reached the end of the exhibition, there is a door slightly opened and you feel the curiosity to see if it’s part of the show. Of course it is, you are suddenly on the back terrace and there’s a dog house with all supposedly chewed toys spread everywhere, with the main character nowhere in sight. No worries, you can hear the sounds, as you quickly realize this installation also includes an audio playing in the background. All I kept thinking was how surprisingly good this integrated in this stylish neighborhood, between the grey walls.
Let’s back up a bit to the photo showcasing the gallery from the outside and the neighborhood. As I headed back to the entrance of the gallery, I was shocked to notice an employee at the desk looking not so human. Suddenly, it dawned on me that at the beginning of the experience I saw someone hunched in the window but I thought I just caught a glimpse of a person being momentarily tired. This is just one of the sculptures Dennis Tyfus produced showing people in different humorous situations. Here we have a gallery director who can’t be bothered. The element of surpise was so big, I was in disbelief I was just discovering this at the end of the show, so it’s also the only one I didn’t take a photo of. Fortunately, there is one of her and the artist mirroring my exact state of mind at the end of this exhausting week.
On the right of the photo: Strafstudie 6: Elke Does Not Break the Fourth Wall (Ever), 2023 – 2024 polyurethane, hair, clothes h. 164 cm.
After leaving the show, I saw the element of tattooed in the title in a new light after learning of another part of Dennis Tyfus ‘s practice. I have never gotten a tattoo, as I still haven’t found myself committed enough to a concept that I would like to have for the rest of my life on my body. The artist has an ongoing project which may be the solution to my conundrum, should I ever be bold enough. No Choice Tattoos – the title is self explanatory. You still get some choices, in the size and the placement on the body, but the subject is totally up to Dennis Tyfus. Should you decide to take this leap of faith, I find it incredible you have a custom artwork on your skin.
Permanently out of Office keeps reappearing on my mind since I came to the realization that I am as carefree and happy when I’m away from the hospital and walk around amazing artworks as the character running through a field of mushrooms. And the tears of joy brought by discovering a new city, a new gallery, a new artist and an extraordinary show all at once are permanently tattooed on my heart.
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