This book was published to accompany the eponymous exhibition held at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen from 14 October 2017 to 21 January 2018. The exhibition was shown in a different configuration at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark from 20 May to 10 September 2017. We would like to express our gratitude to Tal R, his studio and our colleagues at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art for the convivial partnership.

‘Getting the horses out on the grass’: Tal R had been looking forward to this since he first walked around the large Bodon galleries at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The exhibition Academy of Tal R presents a broad survey of the artist’s oeuvre over the past twenty years with more than 170 works. It is a reflection of the Danish artist’s ideas and experiments and, above all, of his irrepressible love of painting. His work encompasses numerous styles, materials and media, including paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings, prints, artist’s books and furniture.

Departing from the structure of a traditional retrospective exhibition, curator Sjarel Ex transformed the individual works into a site-specific installation that appealed to the visitors’ senses and played with their expectations. This carefully conceived staging added an extra layer to Tal R’s extensive oeuvre.

This publication documents this extraordinary exhibition but also adds a personal perspective through Ernst Moritz’s photography and Studio Colorado’s design, emphasising the tactile quality of Tal R’s work. Essays by Sjarel Ex, Roos van der Lint and Esmee Postma provide background information and insights into Tal R’s artistic practice and the genesis of the exhibition.