Christopher Wool American, b. 1955

Overview

"I think of myself primarily as an abstract painter, but I find that in making paintings there is a little bit of investigation into what abstract painting can be". -- CHRISTOPHER WOOL

Christopher Wool is widely regarded as one of the preeminent and most influential American painters of his generation.

Wool became widely known in the late ’80s and ’90s for his stenciled word paintings, often with intentional breaks and awkward spacing (like “SELL THE HOUSE SELL THE CAR SELL THE KIDS”). These pieces feel both confrontational and strangely poetic — as much about language’s breakdown as its power.

Beyond the text works, his abstract pieces are about his process: silkscreened layers of his own paintings, wiped-out brushstrokes, pattern rollers used to apply decorative motifs, and aggressive acts of erasure or defacement. It’s like he’s in constant dialogue with modernist abstraction, punk minimalism, and the mechanical coldness of Pop.

Wool’s work has been presented at museums around the world. Among the institutions that have held major solo exhibitions of his work are the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Art Institute of Chicago, among many others. Wool’s work is included in numerous noteworthy international institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and Tate Modern, London. He has been a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome; Artist in Residence at DAAD, Berlin and Chinati Foundation, Marfa; and a recipient of the Wolfgang Hahn Prize.

In 2021 major sculptures by the artist were permanently installed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. In 2024 See Stop Run, a widely acclaimed survey of Christopher Wool’s works from the past decade, was exhibited in New York City. A new chapter of the presentation opened in Marfa, TX in May 2025, where it will remain on view for a two-year period.

Works