PRESENTATION:Tobias Rehberger-I am Me (Expect When I Pretend I Am Her)

With his various forms of artistic output: sculptures, industrial objects and handcrafted articles, Tobias Rehberger explores the wider sphere of structural design and architecture, thriving on chance connections and unexpected encounters. The concept of transformation is the central theme of his art. Rehberger focuses his energies on the process of perception and of awareness, temporality and the sense of transience, discontinuity and ambiguity.

By Dimi9tris Lempesis
Photo: Galleria Continua Archive

Born in Esslingen on June 2, 1966, Tobias Rehberger was trained at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and became a student of Thomas Bayrle and Martin Kippenberger. Considered as one of the most important German artists of his generation, Rehberger is teaching sculpture at the Städelschule since 2001. Tobias Rehberger’s solo exhibition “I am Me (Expect When I Pretend I Am Her)” focuses on the concepts of identity and mirroring, to the point of blending two elements. The works presented in the gallery spaces play on the relationship between two bodies, how they interact and come together as one, and the meaning of this relationship. The exhibition presents a wide range of works from various series that span from 2002 to 2016 as well as two new artworks, two new artworks, two monumental lighthouses, specially made for the show at Galleria Continua, Beijing. The duality of the works permeates all the exhibited series, from the Twin Lighthouses to the dazzle pattern restaurant on ground floor, and the dazzled bar on the top floor of Galleria Continua’s Beijing space. “If you are one of two twins and you look at each other, you know it’s her face. But then, you pretend it’s you.” In the same way, the two lighthouses in the main room of the gallery are one and identical, but they are projecting two separate films at the same time. The projections crawl around like ghosts, more like thoughts that pass by than images to look at or stare at. Sometimes sharp and brilliant for a moment, sometimes vague and blurry, almost like images from the past, Rehberger’s projections are sliding by in the present. Two sculptures from the “Mother Without Child” series; “Hysteric Mother Without Child” and “Deadpan Mother Without Child” series are on view on the second floor of the gallery. In a different room on the second floor, there are three bundles of lamps made of glass each tightened together by a knot, exhibited together with watercolour paintings depicting the shadows of each glass bundle, mirroring their presence in the space. “Ambiguous Proportions” is a series of watercolor paintings on view on the first floor of the gallery. The works are based on portraits of the artist depicted with one or more friends. The continuation of the partial portraits adds a layer of abstraction to the paintings. Tobias Rehberger’s works explore the relationship between two elements and how they merge as one, as well as how one person blends with others and what that relationship entails.

Photo: Tobias Rehberger, Your inside in me, 2022, Wood, stainless steel, mixed material, 314 x 504 x 254 cm, © Tobias Rehberger, Courtesy: the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, Photo by: Dong Lin

Info: Galleria Continua, Dashanzi Art District 798 #8503, 2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang Dst., Beijing, China, Duration: 26/2-16/3/2023, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.galleriacontinua.com/