Christopher Wool Overview

Studied at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York; New York Studio School; New York University Lives and works in New York, New York The reductive painting made by Christopher Wool pares down artistic expression not in order to reveal an essential... [more]

Studied at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York; New York Studio School; New York University Lives and works in New York, New York The reductive painting made by Christopher Wool pares down artistic expression not in order to reveal an essential truth but rather to make the viewer aware of his or her expectations. The paintings orchestrate an elaborate refusal to do what is expected of the medium, thereby turning the whole process of making images inside out. In Why? Wool's image is a quote pulled from a popular funk song by George Clinton. The black block letters, painted not on a tactile canvas but on a cool white metal surface, drain the phrase of any nuance or liveliness. At the same time, soupy imperfections in the edges of the letters offer a hint of vulnerability. The stark visual strength of his images as well as their overlapping and sometimes paradoxical meanings make a powerful impact. Wool's word paintings draw fragments from lines from movies or rap lyrics, and weave them into a critique of the limiting, repetitive patterns of perceptions and expectations that pop culture tends to reinforce. Wool was in the midst of making paintings that used not words but patterned imagery when a very ordinary experience---seeing a truck outside his studio, freshly painted white expect for black graffiti spelling out the words "sex" and "luv"---inspired his use of text. Most of Wool's mature work stresses an intermediary device either in the form of words written by someone else, or a technique, such as the use of patterned rubber paint rollers, not traditionally associated with painting. His work has been displayed in numerous museums in the United States and Europe, and the Foundation currently includes eleven of his paintings in its collection. [show less]