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Almine Rech

Zio Ziegler

Ziegler paints from a meditative state, drawing from his subconscious a personal interpretation of the world around him. For him, painting is an act of self-exploration and a radical expression of vulnerability. “Painting is my attempt at self-understanding - rather than finding a concept and executing it in a linear fashion, I react to my questions, life, and awareness,” he claims. The focus of Ziegler’s practice aims to illuminate the process of creating instead of isolating the final result. His images of monumental figures set in motion serve as a portal of sorts for the viewer, inviting them to perceive the work in their own way, and in turn creating an active exchange between the artist and the audience.

Using primarily oil-stick, Ziegler works with textures that fuse the raw oil pigment with external materials such as sand, soil, and pumice. His sources of inspiration, though ever-changing, include early 20th-century abstraction, Italian Futurism, and Cubism, and call to mind the likes of Francis Bacon, Kazimir Malevich, and Constantin Brancusi.

Ziegler studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Brown University, receiving his BFA from RISD in 2010. Recent solo exhibitions include Meta Myths at Allouche Benias Gallery, Athens, Greece (2019); The Fourth Wall at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (2018); Bernard Gwilliam and the Quantum Modernism at Jules Maeght Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2017); Meta Species at Ochi Gallery, Idaho, CA (2016); and Et in Arte Ego at Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy (2014). Ziegler has been commissioned by the United Nations for a 70th anniversary commemorative mural in Oakland California, and has been teaching at Stanford University since 2019. 

Selected artworks

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Essential figure #1 (Sound and Fury),                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Essential figure #1 (Sound and Fury), 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Essential figure #2 (On the Plinth),                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Essential figure #2 (On the Plinth), 2022

    Oil, pumice and dirt on canvas
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Essential figure #3 (The Brazos),                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Essential figure #3 (The Brazos), 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Neo-Kouros: Excavated Figure,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Neo-Kouros: Excavated Figure, 2022

    Oil and earth on linen
    198.1 x 139.7 cm
    78 x 55 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Three Figures: Ends of the World and The Great Outer Sea,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Three Figures: Ends of the World and The Great Outer Sea, 2022

    Oil and earth on canvas
    213.4 x 457.2 cm
    84 x 180 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Reduced Kouros,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Reduced Kouros, 2022

    Oil and sand on canvas
    153 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm
    60 1/4 x 48 x 2 inches

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      The right way to go,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler The right way to go, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    213.4 x 152.4 x 4.4 cm
    84 x 60 x 1 3/4 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Rising Action,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Rising Action, 2022

    Oil and pumice on linen
    243.8 x 182.9 x 4.4 cm
    96 x 72 x 1 3/4 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Vanishing Kouros,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Vanishing Kouros, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    243.8 x 182.9 x 5.1 cm
    96 x 72 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Fragmented Apollo,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Fragmented Apollo, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Fragmented Apollo 2,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Fragmented Apollo 2, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      The Rough Edges,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler The Rough Edges, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Quarried Form,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Quarried Form, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    121.9 x 91.4 x 4.4 cm
    48 x 36 x 1 3/4 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Contrapposto Kouros,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Contrapposto Kouros, 2022

    Oil and pumice on linen
    182.9 x 121.9 x 4.4 cm
    72 x 48 x 1 3/4 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Fertility Goddess,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Fertility Goddess, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Discus Thrower,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Discus Thrower, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Observer of the Objective,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Observer of the Objective, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    182.9 x 162.6 x 3.8 cm
    72 x 64 x 1 1/2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Fragmented Apollo 3,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Fragmented Apollo 3, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Atlas under self imposed weight,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Atlas under self imposed weight, 2022

    Oil and pumice on linen
    243.8 x 182.9 x 3.8 cm
    96 x 72 x 1 1/2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Winged Victory,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Winged Victory, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    172.7 x 142.2 x 5.1 cm
    68 x 56 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      Spring,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler Spring, 2022

    Oil and pumice on canvas
    213.4 x 152.4 x 5.1 cm
    84 x 60 x 2 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      The Journey Through the Tehom I,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler The Journey Through the Tehom I, 2022

    Oil, pumice and dirt on canvas
    304.8 x 304.8 cm
    120 x 120 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      The Journey Through the Tehom II,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler The Journey Through the Tehom II, 2022

    Oil, pumice and dirt on canvas
    304.8 x 304.8 cm
    120 x 120 in

  • Zio Ziegler,                                      The Journey Through the Tehom III,                 2022

    Zio Ziegler The Journey Through the Tehom III, 2022

    Oil, pumice and dirt on canvas
    304.8 x 304.8 cm
    120 x 120 in

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