BOOK:Robert Gober-Tick Tock,Matthew Marks Gallery

The monograph “Robert Gober: Tick Tock” borrows it’s name from exhibition of the same name (Gober’s first since his 2014 survey at the Museum of Modern Art) has three sections. In the first, a series of 14 drawings depict tree trunks, human torsos, and barred windows. In the second, 18 wall-mounted assemblages of two- and three-dimensional elements feature fragments and motifs from Gober’s prior sculptures. The final section centers on a sculpture first shown at the 2001 Venice Biennale, where Gober represented the United States. Inspired by his childhood home and modeled after a church on Long Island, the sculpture depicts a pair of cellar doors opening on a staircase set into the gallery floor. At the foot of the stairs, a yellow door with a handle of braided human hair leaks light around its edges. Extensively illustrated with more than 60 images, including details and exhibition views, this monograph is a testament to the artist’s explorations of faith and loss through metaphor. “Memory is like looking up at the stars, it’s not a linear thing” Gober says.-Efi Michalarou