"Sterilized Dirt B6"
Signed R Estep and dated 2014 on verso. Canvas 213 x 152 cm.
Gerber Stauffer Fine Arts, Zürich.
Private collection, Stockholm.
Text from BUGADA & CARGNEL, Paris.
ESTEP's Sterilized Dirt Paintings series follows a number of premeditated steps. Dirt is mixed with organic disinfectant and then heated to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, killing all organic material and preventing further penetration of bacteria. What does one call 'dirt' when it has been sterilized and thus is no longer 'dirty'? This now aseptic material is then silkscreened onto canvas and re-stretched while wet, inscribing the artist's presence on the surface of the canvas.