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Untitled

A work made of oil and enamel on canvas.

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  • A work made of oil and enamel on canvas.

Date:

1988

Artist:

Rudolf Stingel
Italian, born 1956

About this artwork

Featuring unusual and often banal materials such as industrial carpet and Styrofoam, Rudolf Stingel’s conceptual paintings and site-specific installations transform into dazzling pictorial statements. Sometimes produced through unexpected results, Stingel’s work deconstructs—and therefore demystifies—the processes of making art. His work often disrupts the perception of exhibition spaces and destabilizes the accepted hierarchy between the work and the context.

Untitled is the first in Stingel’s series of iconic textural silver paintings—made by a process of coating the canvas in a single color, laying a piece of tulle over the surface, spraying the canvas with silver paint, and then removing the fabric to reveal lyrical, painterly creases on a luminous field of color. The silver surface disrupts the modernist monochrome, making it more contemporary, and adds a touch of glamour and decoration. Embracing nontraditional strategies in painting, as well as redefining the role of the artist, Stingel printed a step-by-step illustrated list of instructions in six languages, which reveals his technique and allows anyone who followed his “recipe” to create one of his paintings.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Rudolf Stingel

Title

Untitled

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1988

Medium

Oil and enamel on canvas

Dimensions

50 × 50 cm (19 3/4 × 19 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Society for Contemporary Art

Reference Number

2006.175

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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