Location: United Kingdom
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.
aerial city views
100cm x 100cm
acrylic on canvas
2015
showville depicts an aerial view of a city. It is a commentary about the faked urban life we lead. Everything is for show, for sale, there are no true values left. http://jayrechsteiner.com/showville.htm
Pharmaville is an aerial view of a city that consists of pharmaceutical companies and buildings such as hospitals, drugs stores etc. It about the power of the pharmaceutical industry.
http://jayrechsteiner.com/pharmaville.html
Bad Painting is an ongoing series begun in 2013, based on real events. The paintings often combine image and language, using short, matter of fact descriptions drawn from news reports, official statements and personal accounts.
The work is driven by my response to the events I encounter: anger, sadness, disbelief. Painting is a way of processing these events rather than illustrating a political position. The paintings present fragments of the source material without resolving or explaining them for the viewer.
Earlier works were predominantly small acrylic paintings. Since 2024 I have worked mainly in oil. In 2026 the series expanded into larger formats, and from Bad Painting 462 text was reintroduced, often on the sides of the canvas.
Bad Painting 442:
Protesters against Protesters
178cm × 215cm
oil on canvas
January 2026
Bad Painting 444:
Meeting between UK government officials and Palantir executives
22.7cm x 30.5cm
oil on canvas
February 2026
Bad Painting 372:
Meeting discussing a secret plan centred on remigration.
22.7cm x 30.5cm
oil on canvas
May 2024
“tents”
“showville”
“Pharmaville”
“Bad Painting 442”
“Bad Painting 444”
“Bad Painting 372”
