A large glass panel set in a wooden frame that has seen better days. This substantial piece has likely been hauled from exhibition to exhibition over the years. It has finally found a home in the DE.GROEN collection. It will remain here, and the work is regularly on display. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this piece embodies everything that is characteristic of Teulings’ work, but it certainly comes close. Teulings, who sadly passed away too young, left behind a fine body of work, and for us, DumbO is a ‘favourite’ within that legacy. Why, exactly? You can view the work in its entirety: the glass, the holes in the glass, and then the mirror-like shape that connects the holes. And that, that mirror shape, is what it’s all about. However difficult it may be to fathom this work, anyone looking at that mirror sees a marvellous example of aesthetics. Or should I rather call it anti-aesthetics? The story goes that Teulings commissioned a craftsman to create this work. He made a sketch on a sheet of A4 paper. It outlined the format, probably also the size of the holes, and included a note to connect these holes using a mirror shape. When you look at the work for a long time, you have to conclude that no artist would have connected those holes in this way and in this form. The craftsman solved the problem in his own unique way. He devised the mirror shape. When Teulings saw his work, he said: “I would never have made it like this myself.” For Teulings, who as an artist and philosopher drew inspiration from the work of Marcel Duchamp, this piece, DumbO, was perhaps a way not only to record and demonstrate his own ‘thinking’ as an artist, but also to commemorate the work of Marcel Duchamp. What remains for me is that enormous anti-aesthetic quality in the mirror shape at the centre of this work. I should add that I am not sure whether ‘anti-aesthetic’ is the right word.
In 2022, we received a donation from his son Boy Teulings. (W)hole in one, a wonderful addition to the collection.
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Raoul Teulings (Arnhem, 1959 - 2010).
