Ugo Rondinone
PAGE OF WANDS, From the series "Contemporary Magic: A Tarot Deck Art Project" Limited Edition 5th Anniversary Print Collection, 2015
The Page of Wands represents the simple pleasures of life, the absorption of unlikely serendipity, …
Ranging from installations to psychedelic paintings to large-scale drawings, Ugo Rondinone’s eclectic work balances on the razor’s edge between euphoria and depression. His signature incandescent colors and Pop references, as in his rainbow-hued and neon-lit sign pieces, turn cultural clichés (“Hell, Yes!”) into material for a contemporary Arte Povera, recycling old catchphrases, repurposed cement, or cast-off clothes. Similarly, his sculptures often transform everyday objects by casting them in bronze, giving them an artificial permanence that both underscores and denies their perishability. Rondinone represented Switzerland in the 52nd Venice Biennale.
The Page of Wands represents the simple pleasures of life, the absorption of unlikely serendipity, and inspiration. Rondinone’s practice interrupts perspective with the banal, humorous, or the fantastical, demonstrating a readiness to confront the unknown and converse with the unexpected, while introducing notions of …
Ranging from installations to psychedelic paintings to large-scale drawings, Ugo Rondinone’s eclectic work balances on the razor’s edge between euphoria and depression. His signature incandescent colors and Pop references, as in his rainbow-hued and neon-lit sign pieces, turn cultural clichés (“Hell, Yes!”) into material for a contemporary Arte Povera, recycling old catchphrases, repurposed cement, or cast-off clothes. Similarly, his sculptures often transform everyday objects by casting them in bronze, giving them an artificial permanence that both underscores and denies their perishability. Rondinone represented Switzerland in the 52nd Venice Biennale.
