Lot 19
  • 19

Rudolf Stingel

Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 EUR
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Description

  • Rudolf Stingel
  • Untitled
  • signed and dated 2011 on the reverse
  • oil and enamel on canvas
  • 170,2 x 135 cm; 66 15/16 x 53 1/8 in.
  • Executed in 2011.

Provenance

Massimo de Carlo, Milan
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Condition

The main picture in the catalogue does not convey the silver background. Moreover, the picture does not convey the relief of the work and the nuances in the relief colors. Please refer to the detailed plunging zoom photo in the printed catalogue or in situ pictures sent by the department to get a more accurate impression of the work. The work is executed on its original canvas and is not relined. Under UV light inspection there is no evidence of any restoration. This work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Credit photo: 
Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (After Sam), 2005 © Sotheby's New York 

Rudolf Stingel is doubtless one of the most radical and unclassifiable artists of our time. Exploring the great genres of art history in compositions that at first glance appear to be strictly figurative or strictly abstract, the artist creates a constant dialogue between these two polarities, inviting the spectator to reflect upon the very idea of reproduction and the very contemporary concept of the appropriation of images. In Untitled, 2011, Stingel creates confusion by inversing the viewer’s conventional spatial relationship with the painting’s subject: a rug. Performing an ingenious displacement in space, this figurative painting suddenly becomes enigmatic, thus reinforcing the existential and experiential aspects of the work.

Here lies the second essential key to an understanding of Stingel’s artistic practice in general and of Untitled, 2011 in particular. The choice of motif and the technique employed here indeed reveal the artist’s fundamental thoughts since the beginning of his career on memory and time. The choice of a rug, a subject he explores since 1991, - the year he began covering entire rooms in woven wool, from floor to ceiling, moving beyond the limits of the frame in  revolutionary fashion- recalls the ancient histories of many civilizations and cultures. The golden and silver palette also plays its role as memento mori, the remains of a bygone decorative decadence and bounty. The almost ghostly line, the half-faded relief, as if fixed in its ultimate form, the insulated texture that creates the impression of a cocoon, protecting us from the incessant and deafening noise of modern life… Beyond all appearances, Stingel here invites us on a veritable journey into a space and time tinted with romanticism, dressed in paradox and subtlety.