Provenance
Massimo de Carlo, Milan
Catalogue Essay
“I wanted to be against a certain way of painting… Artists have always been accused of being decorative. I just went to the extreme.”
RUDOLF STINGEL, 2005

Rudolf Stingel usually employs a palette of ubiquitous materials–wallpaper, Styrofoam, carpets, and rubber− amongst others− in a nod towards the legacy of arte povera,
seeking to demystify the figure of the artist and the artistic process. In Untitled, 2009, a series of repeated and interlacing units initially appear to be fluid elements forming a homogeneous monochromatic black whole. Upon closer inspection, the idiosyncrasies come to light--signs of corruption in the production process, traces of organic human input render his patterned surface into a composition of unique or fragmented and blurred parts. Here, hybridity becomes subject matter. Representation, abstraction, process, pattern, performance and subjectivity are all present in Stingel’s work.

Stingel has persistently pushed the limits of painting throughout his career. His paintings, like those of many of his contemporaries, explore the traditions of abstraction and figuration. Stingel’s upbringing in the Italian Tyrol and Vienna exposed him to the unusual aesthetic amalgamation of rococo and baroque. This, alongside his education at a Tyrolean school renowned for its training in baroque decorative wood carving, has undoubtedly had a profound effect on his work. Hence, one can perceive an elaborate ornamentation in the decorative patterning of the wallpaper, yet when viewed in more detail the surface reveals itself to be unpredictable and uncertain. The variations of monochromatic black paint tones conflict with each other, forcing the viewer to justify reality and perception.

The resulting work, Untitled, 2009, is as much a refection of both the artistic input as the viewer’s perception. The legacy of Stingel in the history of art will be defined by this interface of production and perception. The present lot expresses a crowning achievement of the artist’s intent, and captivates the viewer in an equally euphoric experience.
Artist Biography
Rudolf Stingel
Italian • 1956
Rudolf Stingel came to prominence in the late 1980s for his insistence on the conceptual act of painting in a context in which it had been famously declared dead. Despite the prevailing minimalist and conceptual narrative of the time, the Italian-born artist sought to confront the fundamental aspirations and failures of Modernist painting through the very medium of painting itself. While his works do not always conform to the traditional definitions of painting, their attention to surface, space, color and image provide new and expanded ways of thinking about the process and "idea" of painting. Central to his multifarious and prolific oeuvre is an examination of the passage of time and the probing of the fundamental questions of authenticity, meaning, hierarchy, authorship and context by dislocating painting both internally and in time and space. Stingel is best known for his wall-to-wall installations, constructed of fabric or malleable Celotex sheets, as well as his seemingly more traditional oil-on-canvas paintings.
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3

Rudolf Stingel

Untitled

2009
oil on canvas
82 5/8 x 66 7/8 in. (210 x 170 cm.)
Signed and dated "Stingel 2009" on the reverse.

Estimate
$500,000 - 700,000

Sold for $665,000

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Zach Miner
Head of Sale
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+1 212 940 1256

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

New York 16 May 2013 7pm

1
Wade Guyton
U Sculpture (v. 5)
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $365,000
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2
Nate Lowman
Escalade
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $545,000
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3
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $665,000
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4
Jeff Koons
Jim Beam - Observation Car
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for $1,625,000
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5
Christopher Wool
And If
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for $4,085,000
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6
Cady Noland
Industry Park
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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7
Andreas Gursky
Rhein
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,925,000
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8
Thomas Schütte
Großer Geist Nr. 9
Estimate $3,000,000 - 5,000,000
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9
Richard Prince
Untitled (Man's hand with watch)
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $161,000
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10
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $509,000
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11
Christopher Wool
Untitled
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,685,000
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12
Andy Warhol
Self-Portrait
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $725,000
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13
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (Soap)
Estimate $5,000,000 - 7,000,000
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14
Glenn Ligon
Stranger Drawing #7
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $509,000
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15
Andy Warhol
Blue/Green Marilyn from Reversal Series
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,325,000
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16
Lucio Fontana
Concetto spaziale, Attese
Estimate $900,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $1,565,000
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17
Andy Warhol
Flowers
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,461,000
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18
Roy Lichtenstein
Still Life
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,085,000
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19
Ellsworth Kelly
Green black
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $2,965,000
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20
Josef Albers
Study for Homage to the Square: Signal
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
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21
John Chamberlain
Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $905,000
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22
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for $4,085,000
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23
Andy Warhol
Four Marilyns
Estimate On Request
Sold for $38,245,000
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24
This lot is no longer available.
25
Andy Warhol
Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn)
Estimate $1,400,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for $2,045,000
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26
Wayne Thiebaud
Cat and Traffic
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $893,000
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27
Morris Louis
Roseate
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $365,000
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28
Alexander Calder
The White Face
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
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29
Philip Guston
Brushes
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
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30
James Rosenquist
The Meteor Hits the Swimmer's Pillow
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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31
Jeff Koons
Giraffe (Light Green)
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $521,000
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32
Damien Hirst
Sulbenicilina Disódica
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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33
Kelley Walker
I see an attacking bear-shaped thing
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $341,000
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34
Franz West
Untitled (Two heads)
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $461,000
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35
Richard Prince
Untitled (Cowboy)
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $425,000
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36
Mark Grotjahn
Butterfly
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $473,000
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37
Dana Schutz
Dead Zebra
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
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38
Thomas Houseago
Untitled
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $209,000
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

New York 16 May 2013 7pm

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Rudolf Stingel

3

Rudolf Stingel

Untitled

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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