Robert Gober @ Matthew Marks

These last few months have been trying in so many ways… I think most people have been trying to stay a float, instead of moving on as if things are normal. The contemporary art world has been interesting to keep up with ( or not keep up with). Experiencing art has changed completely, and it has been a bit difficult ( like most things) to get used to. Of all that I’ve ‘seen’ in the last few months the most exciting by far is the Robert Gober show at Matthew Marks. Functioning as a mini retrospective 1976-2019, I was surprised at how elegant, informative and easily accessible it was for an online show. You mostly scroll down, but there are exciting moments where you can delve deeper into a project, access an essay, and see additional works. Gober’s work isn’t easy, but always powerful, and poignant… often ahead of it’s time.

“When I first saw the wallpaper, it seemed to go on and on, which meant that the vulnerability of that sleeping man and the vulnerability of that murdered body went on and on, too. There was no getting any distance from it. Sometimes, when I look at a work of art, the hard thing that an artist is saying about place or history, or their combined effects on the body and on the psyche, becomes glossed over, worked out in such a way that I can ‘take it.’ I couldn’t take Gober’s work, not at first. The coolness of his palette, the clinical nature of his creations, only made it harder to recover from. The beauty of his line confused me; did it express a distance from or a triumph over the chaos of the times?” —Hilton Ali

Untitled Leg 1989

I highly recommend you spend some time with it, it may prove to be a useful tool in thinking how to present your work at the end of August!

Enjoy,

Antonio