Donald Sultan

Donald Sultan  was born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1951. His artistic training began at the University of North Carolina where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, followed by studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he completed his Master of Fine Arts. After concluding his formal education in 1975, he moved to New York, where he still lives and works today. In addition to these two degrees, Sultan has been awarded three honorary doctorates over the course of his career, as well as the coveted North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award bestowed by the state where he grew up.

 

Sultan‘s artistic oeuvre is characterised by a connection to classical traditions renowned from art history, which he translates again and again into a contemporary approach in a fresh, innovative style. Over the years, this has led to his unique, unmistakable artistic signature.

 

The artist approached the still life in a variety of series, such as Mimosas, Lantern Flowers, Poppies, and Button Flowers. In none of these series did Sultan stick to just a single medium, though, working instead not only as a painter, but also as a sculptor. However, in all these different media he was in pursuit of the same imagery, presenting his objects in a characteristically reduced form, whereby the images are by no means intended to be realistic representations of the various flowers. Rather, the blossoms surrender their actual dimensions and are translated into a two-dimensional, industrial almost abstract, form.

 

Works by Donald Sultan can be found in the collections of many of the most prestigious museums in the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo – amongst others. His artwork can also be found in many private and distinguished collections.

 

Donald Sultan lives and works in New York.