I’ve found that occasionally, where and how I see an artist’s work will influence how I feel about it.  If I see something while relaxing on vacation, I might think more highly of it than I would have if it had just been hanging in my local coffee shop.  A beautifully designed gallery or thoughtfully hung gallery can positively influence the way work is viewed.  Context is everything!  New York based artist Rudolf Stingel‘s installation of work at Palazzo Grassi in Venice turns the context of the gallery on end by blanketing expansive surfaces in an Ottoman-style carpet.

The carpet, a nod to the palazzo’s history ( it used to be a trading spot for rugs from the Middle East ), creates a dramatic backdrop for Stingel’s monochromatic paintings.  The work ranges from small scale portraits of classical sculpture to large minimalist abstracts.  In a white wall gallery, they would still grab attention, but somehow the carpeted space seems to create a more intimate experience with the artwork.  And set against all that pattern– the work still calls out, perhaps the pattern serves to even enhance the work, drawing the viewer in and intensifying details that may have been overlooked.

It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?  The way in which the context of work might influence our opinions and feelings toward it.  Have you ever experienced something similar?  Seeing work in one context and feeling a certain way, then completely changing your mind when you see it differently?

If you’d like to see more of Rudolf Stingel‘s work, please visit his representing gallery, Gagosian.

All images are via Design Boom.