Jay Rechsteiner
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Jay Rechsteiner was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1971 and lives and works in Margate, UK. He works primarily in painting, alongside drawing, video, performance and text.
Since 2013, Bad Painting has been central to his practice. The ongoing series begins with real events that provoke shock, anger or disbelief, followed by research, drawing and painting. Image and text are used where they are needed, and the visual language has changed considerably over the life of the project.
Rather than illustrating a political position, Bad Painting uses painting as a way of processing events and human behaviour. Earlier works were predominantly small acrylic paintings. Since 2024 Rechsteiner has worked mainly in oil, and recent paintings have expanded in scale, with text sometimes appearing on the sides of the canvas.
Alongside Bad Painting, Rechsteiner has developed work in drawing, video, performance and collaborative practice.
Lived Experience
I was born and grew up in Basel, Switzerland, and have lived in the UK since 2003, after spending several years in Japan. Moving between different countries, languages and social environments has shaped the way I observe people and everyday behaviour. I now live in Margate, where much of my work develops from things I encounter directly as well as events I come across through news and research.
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