Rubber Mat
"Rubber Mat" by Mona Hatoum is a minimalist installation consisting of a simple black rubber mat placed on the gallery floor, which transforms an ordinary domestic object into a site of contemplation about presence, absence, and the everyday. The work exemplifies Hatoum's practice of using humble materials to create subtle yet conceptually rich pieces that challenge viewers' perceptions of scale, space, and the boundary between art and non art. By elevating a utilitarian object to the status of fine art, the piece invites viewers to reconsider the aesthetic and philosophical potential of the overlooked materials that populate domestic and public spaces.
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Editions & Works on Paper
February 12, 2025
Lot 47
Artists in conversation
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Cuban-American · b. 1957
Gonzalez-Torres similarly elevated mundane, everyday objects like candy piles and light strings into minimalist installations charged with political and emotional meaning. His floor-based and domestic material works share Hatoum's strategy of using humble objects to provoke contemplation about presence, absence, and political identity.
Doris Salcedo
Colombian · b. 1958
Salcedo transforms ordinary domestic and industrial objects into installations that carry profound political weight and an unsettling aesthetic, closely mirroring Hatoum's approach in Rubber Mat. Both artists use minimalist gestures with everyday materials to address displacement, trauma, and the politics of space.
Carl Andre
American · b. 1935
Andre's floor-based minimalist sculptures using industrial materials like metal plates directly parallel the formal qualities of Rubber Mat, placing flat utilitarian surfaces on gallery floors to challenge the boundary between object and artwork. His practice of elevating industrial and everyday materials through minimal intervention aligns closely with Hatoum's conceptual approach in this piece.
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