Untitled 1998

Curator: Let's turn our attention to this artwork from 1998 by Gerwald Rockenschaub. It's an untitled mixed-media installation that fits rather neatly into the postmodernism movement. Editor: My initial thought? Claustrophobia in candy colors. The stark white room crammed with those brightly hued, oversized cushions feels like a playful yet suffocating enclosure. Curator: It's interesting you say that. Rockenschaub's work often engages with ideas of space, minimalism, and even the readymade, playing with how we experience architectural environments. Consider the gallery space itself – the "white cube" – and how the artist manipulates it with these inflatable forms. The effect is rather… disorienting, almost like a dream. Editor: I'd agree, disorientation is key. There is also an underlying symbolism with the usage of colour. The selection of bright and artificial colours almost create an over stimulation and tension inside of the confined space which I suspect represents the state of mind. It plays upon a sense of distorted happiness, even. The inflatables too point towards the fragility of it all, one puncture and its all over! Curator: Indeed. His earlier work engaged quite overtly with the language of institutional critique; one wonders about the implicit critiques of consumerism inherent to his usage of colour in a time when pop art was very established and prevalent. Its place within art history offers an interesting point of inflection for many of his projects to come. Editor: Looking closer, I see more of a calculated move toward contemporary commentaries. What appears cheerful is really thought provoking, that perhaps these structures create the experience to create a kind of uncanny experience and question happiness. Curator: Precisely. Rockenschaub uses color and form to prod at our perceptions. The piece as a whole leaves me pondering our interaction with space and objects in late 20th century art and culture, challenging the boundaries of what art can be. Editor: It leaves me reflecting on the subtle ways environments impact mood, on a personal, almost subconscious level. This space speaks of an underlying fear that society feels of the modern age, almost on edge.