Ugo Rondinone
b. 1964, Switzerland
Zweiterjunizweitausendundneun (Star Painting), 2009
Acrylic paint on canvas, plexiglass plate with caption
260 x 200 cm
Zweiterjunizweitausendundneun (Star Painting) is one of Ugo Rondinone’s “star paintings”, a series of large-format paintings that elaborate Rondinone’s interest in art as a meditative tool. Hung very low on the wall, the viewer is encouraged to cast themselves in the world of the painting, allowing their gaze and mind to wander. In line with its absurdist title that rejects interpretation, the painting does not seek to represent anything, but rather capture a non-existent unknown as Rondinone captures a singular atmosphere without any emotional context. Rondinone thus evokes a “dreamscape”, where the perception of a dreamed and purely mental landscape oscillates between fleeting impressions of the real and the unreal. By looking into these “star paintings”, viewers are at once reassured by the banal, all-encompassing landscape, while also feeling the excitement of possibly discovering something sublime within the depths of Rondinone’s painted realms. It is in this state of doubt and confusion where the flow of time feels distorted, allowing viewers to make space to discover their own rhythms of living.
Photo: Esther Schipper
Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964) is a Swiss artist working with and hybridising a wide range of mediums, including installation, sculpture, painting, large format drawings, and immersive video. Focused on the contemplation of everyday life, Rondinone co-opts the language of psychedelia and advertising to take on themes that he describes as the “mental trinity”: the complex relationship between humanity and nature, romanticism, and existentialism. As metaphors and iconography that borrow from ancient and modern cultures converge in Rondinone's practice, his works are at once humorous and heartfelt, while remaining directed at the most pressing issues of our time. Having represented Switzerland in the 57th Venice Biennale in 2007, Rondinone’s works have been presented in solo exhibitions globally since his 1985 debut, with some of the latest held at The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva (2023), Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2022), and the Belvedere, Vienna (2021). Rondinone is also the recipient of the Swiss Art Award in the years 1991, 1994, and 1995.
