loaded mother without child

The work of Tobias Rehberger (b. 1966, Esslingen, Germany) “happens” on the intersection between what is traditionally considered visual art, design, and architecture, challenging thus art’s conventional understanding, its classification, authenticity and the romantic perception of the artist. Making the subject of transformation a central theme of his practice, Rehberger’s work questions traditional modes of perception, awareness, and temporality, creating a sense of transience, discontinuity, and ambiguity.

loaded mother without child, 2019, is part of a new series of floor sculptures, echoing the idea of an empty vase. It is a continuation and an evolution of the well-known vase series, which have been gradually developed by the artist since the mid-1990s. Maintaining the form and function of a vase and thus emphasizing the object’s utilitarian side, the sculptures challenge art’s myth and the range of cliché’s tied to the non-functionality of an artwork. Their proximity to the human body, reject the idea of a static art object, accentuating instead, the animation of its human characteristics. The reference of the work to the act of birth and the life cycle, addresses the nature of a work of art, its origin and development while foregrounding the idea of “where does an artwork come from and where is it going”.