Private Matters

Documentation of the artist’s project at the Whitechapel

“A group of vases, conceived as portraits of artists; an outdoor bar with DJ and red astroturfed roof terrace; a cinema, just for one person; a blue canopy of glass lights switched on and off by triggers in seven locations around the world. These are just some examples of the objects and environments, as diverse as they are prolific, created by the German artist, Tobias Rehberger. They provide a background for a project at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, presented in the autumn of 2004.” —Iwona Blazwick

The book is dedicated to the documentation of this exhibition, which brings together the main aspects of Rehberger’s work. Except that this project seems for once to point toward the figure of the artist himself: prostheses for his body, window and door sculptures to replace those of his studios—all the works project the viewer into the artist’s “private” life and environment. Through complete documentation of the project and a searching interview by curator Anthony Spira, it becomes evident that the clues do not necessarily lead to the artist any more than to another persona. This seems to be embodied in the lamp Rehberger created to occupy the center of a suspended cabin constructed in the gallery space, which is switched on and off randomly by another Tobias Rehberger who lives in Germany.

The book is produced in collaboration with the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, on the occasion of Rehberger’s solo exhibition (September–November 2004).