Tag: robert gober

Sturtevant at Matthew Marks Gallery

In a 1971 letter, American artist Sturtevant declared her art practice not as anti-art but anti-great artist.  Her trademark practice of making artwork resembling pieces by renowned artists including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and here, Robert Gober, upends expectations and interpretation when artwork easily recognizable to an art-savvy audience turns out to be something else.  In that moment of realization, she explained, “you’re either jolted into immediately rejecting it, or the work stays with you like a bad buzz in your head.” A selection of six pieces from the ‘60s to 2014 at Matthew Marks Gallery includes a reconsideration of Robert Gober’s own meditation on doubling.  (On view in Chelsea through Oct 22nd).

Sturtevant, Gober Partially Buried Sinks, plaster, wood, wire lathe, enamel paint, and artificial grass, sinks: 24 1/8 x 23 7/8 x 2 ¾ inches, platform: 2 x 322 7/8 x 208 5/8 inches, 1997.

Robert Gober at Matthew Marks Gallery

Drawings of barred windows contrast sculptural tableau depicting open windows in Robert Gober’s new work at Matthew Marks Gallery’s 22nd Street location. While the bars suggest imprisonment, a series of wooden windows offer varying degrees of access into personal space resembling – to judge by the weathered sash and can of lithium grease in this version – an aging farmhouse.  Titled ‘Help Me,’ the piece suggests urgent need as it offers objects that stand in for the house’s inhabitants and possibly allude to the body.  Despite the pretty hand-painted designs on a lively curtain that appears to catch the breeze, uncertainty, sentiment, nostalgia and even delight at Gober’s meticulously hand-crafted objects combine to leave a feeling of thought-provoking unease.  (On view through Dec 23rd).

Robert Gober, Help Me, pewter, glass, synthetic plastic polymer, epoxy putty, acrylic paint, wood, cotton, epoxy resin, 30 ¼ x 30 3/8 x 18 ¾ inches, 2018 – 2021.

Robert Gober in ‘Dime Store Alchemy’ at Flag Art Foundation

Robert Gober’s sculpture ‘Heart in a Box’ demonstrates more commitment than sending a valentine card or loading a text with heart-eye emojis. A standout in the Flag Art Foundation’s smart summer group show, ‘Dime Store Alchemy,’ curated by Jonathan Rider, it advances the exhibition’s meditation on art delivered in a particular setting, box or kind of framing device.  Gober’s typical handcrafting is an added thrill as what appears to be a cardboard box is actually painted corrugated aluminum.  (On view through August 17th).

Robert Gober, Heart in a Box, corrugated aluminum, cast glass, paper plaster and ink, 6 ½ x 13 x 12 inches, 2014-15.

Robert Gober in ‘Sculpture’ at Matthew Marks Gallery

Exposed in its confining crib, this body-sized stick of butter (actually beeswax) by American sculptor Robert Gober is perfectly formed but slightly repulsive. Scattered apples, meticulously crafted in wood are all-American (recalling apple pie or Johnny Appleseed) but suggest that temptations lurk from the earliest days of life. (At Matthew Marks Gallery’s 523 West 24th Street location).

Robert Gober, Untitled, wood, paint, beeswax, 50 ½ x 53 ¼ x 28 inches, 1993-2013.