Tobias Rehberger: You can call it Thunder

Platform-L Contemporary Art Center hosts You can call it Thunder, a solo exhibition by Tobias Rehberger (b. 1966), a German contemporary artist and 53rd Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award winner who is in demand internationally. The exhibition consists of an oil painting series, a watercolor painting series, and sculptures using 3D printing, and Tobias Rehberger’s new works, including YES (2024), NO (2024), and You think you know me well (2024), are introduced to Korea for the first time.

Rehberger’s works go beyond simple visual amusement and embody conceptual and multilayered reflections and questions about “art” itself. His work constantly explores various art genres and roles, crossing the boundaries between sculpture, installation, architecture, fine arts, design, art and everyday life, aesthetics, and function. His art is not confined to a single genre and is a hybrid of serious yet playful, abstract, and poetic concepts.

The exhibition questions the semiotic function of “readability” and the realm of audience interpretation. In addition to works on flat surfaces, his 3D sculptures and watercolor works surrounding them blur boundaries by raising questions about emotions and perception. Additionally, the exhibition explores issues of space and cognition with works such as You think you know me well, neon signs, and the Self Portrait series.

The text work made of neon tubes raises questions about how to interpret and understand art with a focus on “readability.” Despite the formal and abstract appearance, the text described on each canvas delivers new messages to the audience.

The fountain in the shape of a clown bust combines the conventional image of a clown with the artist’s persona, broadening the scope of interpretation of conflicting emotions that have been understood over a long time. The water flowing from the nozzle connected to the clown’s nose disguises the true appearance of the artist while putting a smile on the faces of visitors. The watercolor works, which depict water droplets installed on the glass plate behind the sculptures, obscure the distinction between the surface of the work and the area beyond the surface, revealing an ambiguity akin to that of the fountain in the shape of a clown bust.

The exhibition You can call It Thunder offers visitors an opportunity to transcend the boundaries of art through Rehberger’s innovative and diverse works. In particular, the art shop, where the LOUIS QUATORZE logo is combined with the artist’s unique colors and patterns, is transformed into a special space that encourages an experimental space experience that merges fashion and art.

This exhibition was sponsored by LOUIS QUATORZE and Gallery Baton.