Anselm Reyle

Provocative and playful, Anselm Reyle is known for his inventive recontextualization of artistic tropes and found objects. Born in Germany in 1970, Reyle briefly toyed with music and landscape design early in his career before settling on painting and sculpture. Reyle brings to bear some art historical reference in each of his artworks, often presenting them in numerous series that evolve and change over time.

An early series of vertical stripe paintings shows him tweaking both Color Field and post-war abstraction, as Reyle creates stripes using a variety of textures and intentionally clashing colors. In a tribute to Arte Povera artists like Mario Merz, Reyle spray paints found farm equipment in obscenely bright colors and lines the backs of wagon wheels with LED lights.

By appropriating elements from the art historical canon that he sees as having become stale or clichéd, Reyle attempts to reinvigorate the history of modern art. Experimenting with atypical materials and finishes—even swapping studio detritus with the late Franz West for use in new paintings—he challenges the accepted ideas of how art should look and redefines notions of historical legacies.