October 2, 2010 -- January 9, 2011 Born in Mortsel, Belgium, in 1958, Luc Tuymans is one of today's most widely admired painters, a continuation of the great tradition of Northern European painting and an enduring influence on younger and emerging artists. As a European child of the 1950s, his relationship to painting is inevitably structured by television, cinema and by the lingering effects of World War II; more recent historical preoccupations have included the dramatic turn of world events post-9/11. Tuymans combines a muted palette with deteriorated surface effect and a singular use of cropping, close-up and sequencing--perfect devices with which to undertake his investigation of the pathological, the banal and the conspiratorial. In this behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition, Tuymans reveals the stories behind "The Secretary of State," a portrait of Condoleezza Rice that he painted for his series "Proper," about the aftermath of September 11. For more information, visit www.mcachicago.org