Rudolf Stingel at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

What does painting mean today? Works by the artist Rudolf Stingel (*1956 in Merano), who is based in New York , present a persistent, radical reflection on fundamental questions with respect to painting. Unconventional materials, such as carpet, painted aluminum, or Styrofoam, continually disturb the viewer’s notions of art. Painting and sculpture are joined together; concept and creative coincidence merge. This volume documents Rudolf Stingel’s extensive solo exhibition that took place in 2007 at Chicago ’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York . The show spanned the last twenty years of the artist’s career—from the works with names, patterns, and scratches, created with the active participation of visitors to the museum, and images of footprints to Styrofoam objects and Photo-Realist self-portraits. Numerous large plates convey the vastly sensual allure of the works and the exhibition spaces they incorporate.