ROTTERDAM.- Kunsthal Rotterdam is now presenting the first solo institutional exhibition in Europe by artist Doron Langberg (1985), which started on 1 February 2024. One of the leading figurative painters of his generation, Langberg has gained a reputation for works that celebrate queer subjectivity. Portraying himself, his family, friends, lovers and landscapes, Langberg’s luminous and often large-scale paintings celebrate the physicality of touch – in subject matter and process.

Doron Langberg. Part of Your World brings together sixteen new and recent paintings – from intimate portraits to monumental sweeping landscapes – which encompass universal subjects of love, desire and place. Many of Langberg’s compositions are set in domestic settings or in landscapes that are significant to him, such as the immediate surroundings of his parental home in Israel, or the beach of Fire Island, a queer haven off the coast of Long Island, New York.

Langberg researches the possibilities of colour to convey form, light, atmosphere and emotion, orchestrating multiple figures, textiles, and interior patterns in compositions that blur the boundaries between subject and surroundings. This dynamic interplay creates a distinctive psychological register, inviting viewers to engage in a slow unfolding of colour, form, and materiality. As complex as they are seductive, Langberg’s paintings invite an encounter between subject and viewer.

Speaking about his work the artist has said: ‘Queerness for me is not just a sexual experience, but a way of being in the world which affects every aspect of my life. Using intense colours and different paint textures and marks to create these everyday scenes, I want to connect with a viewer by speaking to our most basic commonalities – our bodies, our relationships, our interiority – rather than the social categories that may separate us.’

Doron Langberg

Born in 1985 in Yokneam Moshava, Israel, Doron Langberg currently lives and works in New York City. The artist is represented by Victoria Miro. He obtained a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master's degree in fine arts from the Yale University School of Art. Work by Langberg is currently on view as part of the collection

display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the National Portrait Gallery, London. The artist's work is in public collections including Baltimore Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges, High Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston and Miami, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, RISD Museum and Rubell Museum. The Canadian Rennie Museum and the Swiss Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (MAMCO) also have works by Langberg in their collections.

Kunsthal Rotterdam

Kunsthal Rotterdam is one of the leading cultural institutes in the Netherlands, situated in the Museumpark in Rotterdam. Designed by the renowned architect Rem Koolhaas in 1992, the Kunsthal has seven different exhibition spaces. The Kunsthal annually presents a varied programme with around 23 exhibitions. As visitors are always able to see multiple concurrent exhibitions, the Kunsthal can offer them an adventurous journey through different worlds and art movements. Culture for a wide audience, from modern-day masters and contemporary art to underexposed cultures, photography, fashion, and design. An extensive programme of activities is organised to accompany the exhibitions.

Doron Langberg. Part of Your World
1 February - 26 May 2024