GREGOR HILDEBRANDT

Gregor Hildebrandt’s signature mediums are cassette tape and vinyl, which he collages and assembles into apparently minimalist yet latently romantic paintings, sculptures and installations. Resting in silence behind the glossy surface of his analog aesthetics, which verges on black-and-white monochrome, music and cinema haunt his practice. Whether pictorial or sculptural, all his works contain pre-recorded materials, which are referenced in the titles. Usually a single song, these pop-cultural sources are meant to trigger both collective and personal memories. Like analog storage mediums, his distinctive rip-off technique is a metaphor for the mnestic process itself: it consists in rubbing magnetic coating against double-sided adhesive tape glued on canvas to trace intricate and elusive powdery patterns. Further relating to architectural Gesamtkunstwerk, Gregor Hildebrandt’s monumental sonic barriers made of stacked, bowl-shaped records, as well as his sensual wall curtains made of unreeled tapes, draw and envelop wandering paths for the visitors of his shows.