Qatar Museums (QM) has announced the five lucky winners of the “Luc Tuymans Challenge” competition, who will now see their artworks displayed in QM’s latest exhibition titled, “Your View”, which will be on show at the QM Gallery, Al Riwaq until January 31.
Presented under the leadership of its chairperson, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the competition was inspired by the work of internationally-acclaimed Belgian artist Luc Tuymans, whose major retrospective “Intolerance” is currently on display at the QM gallery at Al Riwaq until January 30. “The Luc Tuymans Challenge” invited creatives from across the country to express their views of world events though art.
The winners of the competition are Katrina Boyd, a teacher at Al Khor International School; Michael Perrone, a professor at VCU-Qatar; healthcare management professional Mohamed Muslim and students, Devi Sari and Maryam Nasser. Each individual hugely impressed Tuymans with their artworks, all of which are inspired by media-driven images of important moments in history that have affected the world and how we perceive it today.
Tuymans uses art to showcase his views on history, media and how we look at images. Well aware from the outset of his career that painting as an art-form was widely considered in crisis, Tuymans adopted a contrasting stance. Painting became for him a vehicle through which the most urgent and volatile issues, whether relating to history, identity, nationalism and belief, or to headline social and political events, could be opened up to a nuanced debate.
By bringing major international artists and their exhibitions to Qatar, such as Luc Tuymans’ “Intolerance”, QM is continuing to influence aspiring artists from the region and to educate local communities about international art. In line with QM’s vision to inspire an indigenous culture of creativity and innovation in Qatar, “The Luc Tuymans Challenge” sought to engage local artistic talent and to further inspire creativity in the country.
Competitors were asked to submit a high-resolution photo of their painting to a dedicated website, including details of the inspiration behind their work and a brief biography.
Luc Tuymans is widely regarded internationally of the key figures of a new generation of figurative painters, widely credited with having contributed to the revival of painting in the 1990s.  His works are featured in museum collections worldwide including The Art Institute of Chicago; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; MoMA, New York; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York and Tate Gallery, London.  
Among his major solo shows are a presentation of the artist’s portraits, Nice. Luc Tuymans, at The Menil Collection, Houston in 2013. Previous major survey shows include those organised by Moderna Museet Malmo, Sweden in 2009 and Tate Modern, London in 2004.  In 2001, the artist represented Belgium at the 49th Venice Biennale.