Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Gregor Hildebrandt’s signature media 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 of his works contain prerecorded materials, which he
references in the titles. These pop-cultural sources, usually a single song, are
meant to trigger both collective and personal memories. Like analog storage
media, his distinctive rip-off technique is a metaphor for the mnestic process
itself: it consists in rubbing magnetic coating against double-sided adhesive
tape stuck on canvas to trace intricate and elusive powdery patterns. Further
relating to architectural Gesamtkunstwerk, Hildebrandt’s monumental sonic
barriers made of stacked, bowl-shaped records and his sensual wall curtains
made of unreeled tapes create paths for the visitors of his shows.