Ugo Rondinone

Ugo Rondinone first emerged as an artist in the 1990s and remains active today. The Swiss-born artist has talented capturing each corner of the art world, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and poetry. His vibrantly colored totems and clay sculptures have captivated onlookers in galleries and exhibits across the globe. One of the artist’s best-known pieces is Seven Magic Mountains, a collection of seven 35-foot painted totems in the desert of Nevada.

Rondinone, who studied art at the Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, is heavily influenced by the German Romantic movement. He uses his art to explore the relationship between the natural world and the human condition while reflexing on time and everyday life.

While much of Rondinone’s work showcases a bright color palette and rainbow motifs, he also has crafted a series of primitive figures that draw inspiration from indigenous masks. Moonrise. East, located on the Upper Level, is a 12-part sculpture series that marks Rondinone’s first free-standing figurative sculptures. Each figure represents a month of the year, while the entire collection embodies the rise of the moon and the Western night sky.

Rondinone currently resides in New York City, where he continues to make art.