Rudolf Stingel

Rudolf Stingel’s body of work centers on expanding the definition, makeup, and presentation of painting and the art object. Though in the beginning of his career he was known for producing monochromatic paintings, he expanded beyond the traditional mediums and formats of painting. His frequent use of accessible and commonplace industrial materials, and the incorporation of the audience’s metaphorical (and occasionally literal) footprint, underscore Stingel’s commitment to debunking modern painting’s austerity and elitism. For example, in 1989 he created a “do-it-yourself” manual containing detailed instructions in six languages and illustrations on how to paint his signature silver paintings. In the early 1990s, Stingel began creating paintings made of brightly colored, monochromatic carpeting, and has since continued to explore the ripe possibilities of the material, including color and pattern, orientation, scale, and environment. Commenting on his transformation of the Palazzo Grassi at the 2013 Venice Biennale, one critic captured Stingel’s appeal aptly when she wrote, “The result of this makeover is a three-dimensional interplay of two-dimensional mediums (painting, textiles and photography) that carefully layers abstraction and representation; original and reproduction; East and West; art and craft; and personal, local and world history, all into an encompassing environment of exhilarating complexity.”

Stingel has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and many others.