Stefan Bruggemann

Stefan Brüggemann’s multi-media, text-based artistic practice focuses on acerbic and humorous critiques of the art world and contemporary culture. Working with neon lights, vinyl lettering, or painted texts, Brüggemann’s works are often eponymously titled and self-referentially create contradictions that question the purpose, placement, and operations that we typically assume for artworks. For instance, for a 2012 commission by the Bass Museum in Miami, Brüggemann painted the phrase “(THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE)” on one of the museum’s exterior walls. The project was requested by the institution but suggests that its existence is either misplaced or unwarranted. Such conundrums undermine the values and beliefs we often take for granted when looking at art.

Brüggemann’s work has been shown around the world since the late 1990s, including exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Moving Museum in Dubai, and the Museum of Installation in London. His work is found in numerous public collections such as those of the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the Marguiles Collection, and the Colección Jumex in Mexico City, Brüggemann’s hometown.