A middle-aged man, a nice suit, a rumpled bed, and an anonymous room. Untitled (After Sam) explores the unstable emotional life of the artist. With glazed eyes and listless body, Stingel portrays himself as exhausted and disinterested in his surroundings. Perhaps he has lost both his ability to create and his appetite for life.

Rudolf Stingel is well known for his abstract style, but in 2006 he created a series of highly realistic, staged self-portraits based on black-and-white photographs taken of him by artist Sam Samore. By creating an image of himself made after someone else’s work, Stingel transforms the typically independent practice of self-portraiture. His rough brush strokes bring texture and presence into what otherwise would be flat, cinematic image.