Donald Sultan

The work of Simon Linke faithfully reproduces the design and typography of advertisements in the art world publication Artforum. His paintings give this otherwise dry imagery an assertive material presence by meticulously applying paint around the text in a thick and heavily textured impasto. In this way, he transforms the average advertisement—a bland mechanical reproduction—into a sensuous, one-of-a-kind aesthetic object. Linke’s paintings address the economic conditions of the art market and its various players (artists, curators, dealers, galleries, art magazines, etc.) in a cool yet critical manner that comments on the ever-increasing commercialization of art. Speaking recently, the artist has commented “Thirty years ago, art was a specific and autonomous field. Today, it is just one of the many ramifications of the luxury industry.