Sultan, an internationally recognized artist who rose to prominence in the late 1970s as part of the "New Image" movement, is known for taking the still life tradition to a new level by breaking down his subjects into basic forms and using industrial materials. His paintings typically use enamel, roofing tar, aluminum, linoleum and putty, pushing the boundaries of the medium through techniques of gouging, sanding and polishing to create flatness, depth and texture. The works are made of the same materials as the building in which the viewer stands; the architecture participates in the paintings. Sultan's paintings are weighty and structured and at the same time abstract and representational: while his images are immediately recognizable - flowers, everyday objects, insignia, disused factories - the predominant, abstract forms contradict the usual association with fragility.
Biografie
Sultan was born in Asheville, North Carolina, studied at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and later received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute, Chicago.
His first solo exhibition was held at Artists Space in New York in 1977 and his work has since been exhibited worldwide in solo and group exhibitions, including the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Gotlands Konst Museum, Sweden; Institute of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Memphis Brooks Museum, Memphis; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musée d’art Contemporain, Montreal; National Gallery, Berlin; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
His work is represented in internationally renowned public and private collections, including The Art Institute of Chicago; British Museum; Cincinnati Art Museum; Cleveland Art Museum; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts; Detroit Institute of Arts; Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Cambridge; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. Ludwig Museum, Budapest; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Neuberger Museum at SUNY-Purchase, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Singapore Museum of Art; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate Gallery, London; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.