Rudolf Stingel

Rudolf Stingel's Conceptual paintings and site-specific installations deconstruct, in order to popularize, the processes of making art. In 1989, he produced an instruction manual on how to make abstract paintings and duly painted according to its formula for a decade. In another take on the notion of do-it-yourself artwork, Stingel often covers the gallery walls with reflective insulation boards. The first time he showed these silver "paintings," viewers scrawled all over them; but rather than seeing this as a defacement of his work, the artist responded by upping the ante. His wall coverings have since become increasingly baroque in terms of their decorative elements, thereby challenging viewers to reconsider their preconceived ideas about what constitutes a legitimate surface for graffiti.

ESM - Whitney Biennial