Untitled
Kai Althoff
German, born 1966
2007
A theatrical mixed-media work in which Kai Althoff combines oil-painted fabric, ink drawings and gift-wrap with a draped, dyed chiffon over an enamel-painted wooden stretcher to make a painting that reads like an intimate stage set.
A pale-yellow chiffon spills out of a bright yellow frame, revealing half-hidden painted faces, energetic charcoal strokes and a small ink bicycle amid torn paper, so the piece feels both fragile and performative.
By unframing and layering painted cloth, paper and fabric, Althoff collapses painting and sculpture into a domestic, narrative object that helped push contemporary painting toward material hybridity and intimate storytelling.
Medium
Oil on fabric, ink on paper, gift-wrap paper, and dyed chiffon on enamel-painted wood stretcher and frame
Dimensions
31 × 37 1/4" (78.7 × 94.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Susan and Leonard Feinstein
Accession
1408.2016
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
