7 october, 2005 - 2 february, 2006 /

Palacio de Cristal, Parque del Retiro, Madrid

Exhibition view. Tobias Rehberger. I Die Every Day. 1 Cor. 15,31, 2005 — Exhibition view. *Tobias Rehberger. I Die Every Day. 1 Cor. 15,31*, 2005

Tobias Rehberger (Esslingen, Germany, 1966) is one of the most internationally renowned German artists to come out of the art scene in the Nineties. A descendent of German sculptural tradition in the Eighties, which can be seen in the exhibition Raumbilder: cinco escultores alemanes en Madrid (Raumbilder: Five German Sculptors in Madrid), Rehberger is part of the evolution of contemporary sculpture and the hybridisation of architecture and design. Moreover, his works often portray pictorial components through detailed studies of colour and geometry.

In the sculptural installation presented in the Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro Park the diversity of the German artist's universe is immense. The installation is made up of a total of seventeen projects chosen from the forty or so that have been realised following sketches, drawings and notes Rehberger produced at the time of conception.

Rehberger draws upon some of his past projects, which, for one reason or another, were never produced, creating all the sculptures present in the exhibition exclusively for the occasion. In some cases these projects are adapted to the original idea whilst also incorporating certain variations. This is the case with Nazi pasta table reborn Venice FP and Fuck you Mr. Bear, among others. Re-interpretations of old projects reconstructed under new meanings but in keeping with the original form are also included; for instance, Donnerstags Sonne, Sonntags ins Bordell and N. Y. is boring (Butterfly Version). In this last example the original piece was designed as a floor, but can now be seen transformed into a translucent wall that alters its anticipated functionality from the very beginning.

Likewise, other projects have also been added to, such as Not even 7% resurrection of the suicide airport, incorporating a non-existent bridge in the first versions of the work, or Im Nirvana Irgendwo, where the scale has been changed and music added. Some, for instance Restroom (all the way up from Steiermark), have been deprived of their original function. Nevertheless, perhaps one of the projects to have undergone the most changes is The nudists Jesus as a pavilion for the muddy rest, with its initial forms disarranged to become a new work altogether.

The chosen title for the exhibition - I Die Every Day. 1 Cor. 15,31- epitomises this series of transformations as it refers to the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians in which the concept of resurrection is addressed. This resuscitation is not only related to the possibility of seeing these exhibited projects finally realised, but also the creative process in general terms.