Artist Tobias Rehberger: Inspiration is a Little Town in China | Louisiana Channel

“I am a troublemaker for myself.” Meet the cheerful and undogmatic German artist Tobias Rehberger, who once dreamt of falling asleep on a painting by Vincent van Gogh.

“Why has nobody ever asked that sitting on an artwork could also be a quality? The famous example: I did not make a cafeteria for the Venice Biennale. I made a sculpture that is a cafeteria. It’s a matter of perspective.”

In the interview, Rehberger also reflects upon his creative process that he often initiates but realizes together with a lot of specialists. “There is a certain moment where an idea is good enough to start working on it. Art has to be something you haven’t encountered before.”

“Something I am also very interested in is the integration of artworks into your daily life. I am not a big fan of this concept, that it should be something special. I mean, it is special, but it should also be normal. It’s like with my children in the big house we are living in. It’s not so important that I play with them all the time. But it is important that they are there.”

Tobias Rehberger was born in 1966 in Esslingen, Germany. He is an artist whose work across sculpture, installation, painting and architecture is characterized by transformation, chance and dialogue. From minimal interventions to large-scale public sculpture, his distinctive aesthetic creates radical new experiences of our surroundings. He lives and works in Frankfurt and Berlin.

Rehberger won the Golden Lion at the 53rd Venice Biennale for Was du liebst, bringt dich auch zum Weinen (2009). Selected solo exhibitions include Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (2022); Haus am Waldsee, Berlin (2019); Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art Busan (2018); Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2016); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2014); MACRO Museum, Rome (2014); Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul (2012); MAXXI, Rome (2010); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2008); Fondazione Prada, Milan (2007); Tate Liverpool (2006); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2004); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002); and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2000).

Tobias Rehberger was interviewed by Maya Röttger in July 2023. The interview took place in his home and his studio in Frankfurt am Main. Another interview with Rehberger was conducted by Marc-Christoph Wagner in connection with his exhibition through the back side of my eyes at Kunstforeningen Gl Strand in Copenhagen. The interview took place in September 2023.

Camera: Sebastian Heindorff (Frankfurt am Main) and Signe Boe Pedersen (Copenhagen)
Extra stills: David Stjernholm
Edited by: Signe Boe Pedersen
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner

Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2023

Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet and C.L. Davids Fond og Samling.

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