Year: 2005
Medium: oil, aluminum foil, mirror
Dimensions: 223.5 x 188.9 cm (88 x 74 3/8 in.)
Acquired from Phillips, 2023
Along with “Foil Painting,” this is one of Reyle’s most representative series of works, “Stripe Painting.” Stripes have been used in abstract expression since the first half of the 20th century. However, in a narrow sense, many painters have attempted to use stripes since the era of Abstract Expressionism/Color Field. Through this accumulation, stripes have already acquired a given meaning as a form in painting. Reyle, who ignored the fact that stripes have been established as a pattern of method in abstract expression, has taken a critical attitude toward stripes. This includes juxtaposing aluminum foil and colored mirrors with paint. His choice of colors also deviates from the color theoretical orthodoxy repeated by painters in the past. By following the extremely strong formalism of stripe painting—of the rebellion and denial against the expectation and common sense of how it should be—the work becomes an ironic statement. On the left edge of this work, the semicircle and 3 to 4 drops of dirt appear to have been left accidentally during the production process. However, these motifs appear repeatedly throughout the series of “Stripe Paintings,” indicating that they are highly intentional. These repeated shapes, which pretend to be accidental, should be seen as a symbol of Reyle’s scathing criticism of the formalist approach.
