Donald Sultan Red with Yellow, 2024 For Sale

About this work

Donald Sultan has occupied a singular position in contemporary American art since the 1980s, when he emerged as a leading figure in the revival of still life painting. His monumental floral works, rendered with industrial materials including tar, vinyl tile, and spackle, challenged conventional boundaries between painting and sculpture while establishing a visual language that remains instantly recognizable. Sultan's flowers—particularly his roses and poppies—have become central to his practice, their silhouetted forms conveying both boldness and restraint. Red with Yellow, 2024 represents Sultan's continued exploration of his floral subjects translated into three-dimensional form. Executed in painted aluminum with stainless steel centers and mounted on a polished stainless steel base, this wall-mounted sculpture demonstrates the artist's facility in moving between mediums while maintaining the graphic clarity that defines his aesthetic. The interplay between the warm red and yellow tones against the reflective steel elements creates visual tension characteristic of Sultan's best work, where industrial precision meets organic subject matter. This piece belongs to Sultan's ongoing investigation of the flower as both symbol and formal element, stripped of sentimentality and presented with the directness that has earned him institutional recognition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among numerous other collections worldwide. Issued in an edition of 25, this sculpture offers accessibility to Sultan's sculptural practice while maintaining the exclusivity appropriate to an artist of his stature. For acquisition inquiries, please contact Guy Hepner.