Rudolf Stingel

Philip Konzett Galerie, Vienna
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2006

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the catalogue illustration fails to fully convey the metallic quality and textured surface in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Upon close inspection, there is a very small spot of surface loss to the centre left of the lower edge which may be original to the artist's working method. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"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."

"In Rudolf Stingel's work, the parameters of painting and architecture are turned inside out. The traditional qualities of painting - pictorialism, flatness, illusion, composition and autonomy - become corrupted by a new symbolic framework, in which paintings metamorphoses - sometimes literally, sometimes through association - into a fragment of Rococo wallpaper or stucco work, a mirrored floor, a thick rectangle of Styrofoam trampled by footprints, an oversized photograph, or a dirty carpet. Stingel's disclosures produce a disturbing sense of artifice - an unnatural state that, in the nineteenth century, was deemed decadent."

Chrissie Iles, "Surface Tension" in: Exhibition Catalogue, Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rudolf Stingel, 2007, p.23