Gereon Krebber: Contrary Data

May 17 – June 30, 2012

numberthirtyfive presents new works by Cologne-based artist Gereon Krebber. This is his second exhibition with the gallery.

Krebber gently undermines our preconceived view of the world and the preconception of things, but in a way that is very determined and highly effective. This applies especially to the perception of the architecture of a space; Krebberʼs intervention gives the room a new face, and hence, a surprisingly palpable appearance.

Gereon Krebber enthusiastically transgresses sculptureʼs dogma regarding materials. In visualizing his ideas, he prefers to use everyday objects, such as plaster, zip ties, package tape, balloons and plastic wrap. Using these materials, the artist creates forms that usurp its familiarity into scintillating and disturbing structures. Recently, Krebber has added the patina of age and destruction to his arsenal, working with objects that are burned black and seemingly rotting. He uses decay as a painter uses paints; an element to play with.

In Contrary Data, Krebber has created a piece where he gathered stray bricks from the vacant lots that surround the gallery. Carefully reformed into a crypt-like shape, it greets the viewer at the door, its structure compromised in its construction, its interior revealing a brick form both a part of the structure and put to rest inside it. From its base emerges a pristine white support post, a direct contrast to the dark sculpture that surrounds it.

The bulk of the space hosts a huge tape installation that stretches itself throughout the gallery. Hoisted on hooks and wrapped around posts, here he plays with the elasticity inherent in the plastic packing tape. At once a measured cobweb and a quagmire impossible to escape from, this work makes light of Hirshhornʼs affinity to affix objects to a surface. Unlike Hirshhorn, Krebberʼs intent isnʼt to make a larger commentary on social constructs or historical painting, but to instigate a visceral response - enacting a smirk or a gag reflex.