R. B. Kitaj, If Not, Not, 1975–1976, Oil and black chalk on canvas
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

Lovers and enemies, virility and fragility, politics, history, literature, philosophy as well as the question of belonging to Judaism, though neither by means of religion nor Zionism, are pieces of the puzzle out of which Kitaj created his paintings and collages. Unimpressed by the taste of the masses, his figurative work defied the trend in abstract art prevalent in the 1960s and brought him to the forefront of British pop-art, together with artist friends such as Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, and Leon Kossoff. Confronting the history of the mass murder of Europe's Jews, and studying the phenomenon of being an outsider, he created a Jewish modern art, which he termed "diasporic," with a rich palate of color and enigmatic, recurring motifs.

Today, Kitaj's works can be viewed in large museums and private collections around the world. The exhibition owes thanks to the generous support of the loaners, among them the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in Madrid. With circa 65 works of art, as well as prints and sketches, it presents an overview of all the periods of Kitaj's extensive œuvre.