Instructions, 1989

Rudolf Stingel is an Italian-born painter and artist who resides in Merano, Italy and New York City (NYC). This painter encourages audience participation and seeks out onlookers' perception of art. Moreover, he utilizes conceptual installations and paintings to analyze the process of creation. This gifted artisan works with "found" and/or readily accessible materials, such as carpet, styrofoam, plaster board, and cast polyurethane. His artwork adheres to an underlying framework and challenges traditional concepts in the painting world. This artist produces two-dimensional pieces that evoke an alternative sense of reality. Many of his pieces are imprinted or indented, carved out, and/or demonstrate a skewed visual representation of the artist’s source material. This versatile painter has worked in many mediums and produced many exhibits in different genres over the years. He first gained recognition in the '80s for his monochromatic artwork, which was characterized by undertones of yellow, blue, and/or red. In the 1990s, his later abstract pieces consisted of oils in pure, brilliant colors that were reminiscent of Jackson Pollack in their approach. He is also widely known for his installations using Celotex insulation board and inviting visitors and/or onlookers to mark them as they see fit. the introduction of these installations that took his career and asking price to unanticipated heights. Since the introduction of these installations, Rudolf Stingel has seen his career and asking price elevated to unprecedented levels. Following his show at the Whitney Museum in NYC in 2007, the value of his pieces has skyrocketed into the millions. Nearly 60 items of Stingel's have been presented at auction from 2007-2009, commanding record-setting amounts. In fact, at a 2015 Christie's NYC auction, the painter's "Untitled" (1993), which was part of his series of silver paintings, set a world auction record at nearly $5 million.