
Photo: Roman März
Produced in under three months as a replacement for a cancelled installation, Gregor Hildebrandt’s latest exhibition at Mies van der Rohe Haus is one that requires some explanation to fully appreciate.
On the surface, the contemporary artist has applied his trademark magnetic cassette tape to canvas, creating a series of alluring, if familiar, textured black and white paintings. A framed mosaic of white vinyl gives the impression of silent music, its energy defined visually.
What makes it worth the trek to the outskirts of Lichtenberg is the poetic intimacy that lies beneath the seemingly surface. Hildebrandt has moved into the house designed by modernist master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and temporarily made it into his home. With the wall-to-ceiling canvas replicating the size of the bed he shares with his wife and a five-part series of patterned works inspired by his son’s pyjamas, the exhibition offers a glimpse into his family life and the sense of having visited the artist’s private residence.
It’s a fairly small exhibition, but also a chance to appreciate this open and light-filled space by the Obersee – the last building Mies van der Rohe designed in Germany before fleeing to America in 1937.