“I wouldn’t know where to say intervention stops and destruction begins.” Rudolf Stingel
Rudolf Stingel's work presents a dramatically scarred and weathered canvas surface, where layers of oil and varnish have been applied over polystyrene to create a tactile, almost geological terrain of marks and textures. The painting's surface bears the evidence of deliberate intervention — scratches, gouges, and abrasions — blurring the line between artistic creation and willful destruction. The work's title, borrowed from Stingel's own words, becomes a philosophical provocation embedded within the material itself, inviting viewers to question where the act of making ends and unmaking begins.
- Medium
- polystyrene, oil and varnish on canvas
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Phillips
🔨 Auction Lot
New Now
December 9, 2015
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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