‘His art asks what are paintings, who makes them, and how?’ Roberta Smith, ‘The Threads That Tie a Show Together’,
1989
Rudolf Stingel's 1989 oil on canvas work explores fundamental questions about the nature of painting and artistic creation. The work's subtitle hints at the artist's investigation into the definition and value of artistic practice itself.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Phillips
🔨 Auction Lot
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
March 8, 2017
More by Rudolf Stingel
styrofoam, 4 panels
“Zen is about acceptance, right?” Mr. Stingel said. “So that’s the way it is. I do sit and look at him sometimes — we have a meaningful relationship. You can’t get over it. You just live with it.” - Rudolph Stingel
The radicalness of Stingel’s Cellotex panels is often underestimated. While rejecting any suggestion of being a social, political or conceptual gesture, these works may be some of the most open and brave moments in recent contemporary art production. As with his provocative instruction book on how to make his paintings, Stingel once again gives himself and his work, in their totality, to the public and the viewer. He invites the viewer inside the surface of his work, and allows anyone to make a 'contribution' to it. The critical voice of the viewer becomes part of the work. Like magnetic tape, the artist records the viewer’s reaction to his work – not simply verbally, but physically.
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