Robert Gober

Robert Gober, Bag of Donuts  1989

Each object in the installation that this work forms a part of is carefully made by hand. The sheets of wallpaper are individually screen-printed, the pewter drains were hand-moulded, and the paper bag with a logo is drawn in pencil by Gober. Though the doughnuts were deep fried by the artist, he worked with the sculpture conservator Christian Scheidemann to preserve them. They are injected with a synthetic resin to ensure their longevity. When it was first shown as one of two installations in a solo exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in the autumn of 1989, critical reviews prompted a debate about nudity and public attitudes towards sex. Elizabeth Hess, the writer for the Village Voice, concluded ‘The work is graphic but not in the least bit pornographic.’

Gallery label, August 2024

Robert Gober, Male and Female Genital Wallpaper  1989

Each object in the installation that this work forms a part of is carefully made by hand. The sheets of wallpaper are individually screen-printed, the pewter drains were hand-moulded, and the paper bag with a logo is drawn in pencil by Gober. Though the doughnuts were deep fried by the artist, he worked with the sculpture conservator Christian Scheidemann to preserve them. They are injected with a synthetic resin to ensure their longevity. When it was first shown as one of two installations in a solo exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in the autumn of 1989, critical reviews prompted a debate about nudity and public attitudes towards sex. Elizabeth Hess, the writer for the Village Voice, concluded ‘The work is graphic but not in the least bit pornographic.’

Gallery label, August 2024

Robert Gober, Dog Bed  1986–7

A dog basket is a place where a dog sleeps and dreams – possibly about subjects such as the ducks depicted on the fabric. The underside of the dog bed is dedicated ‘For Sandy, 1983–7’ – the dog of the gallerist Paula Cooper, whom Gober used to look after during the summers. The hunting imagery on the patterned fabric is hand-painted. Gober taught himself hand-weaving as a form of physical rehabilitation after he injured his hand while woodworking.

Gallery label, August 2024

Robert Gober, Untitled  2002

In this print, Gober depicts seemingly ordinary objects that have been significant in his life. The dream-like overlapping of images reflects how memories can sometimes lack coherence or reason.

The cellar door is based on one his father built in their family home. The humble shoes are practically the only style the artist wore for two decades, during countless life events. Gober only discovered that they had been discontinued when he was preparing to travel for his United States Pavilion exhibition at the 49th Venice Biennale of Art, in 2001.

Gallery label, February 2026

Robert Gober, Untitled  1992–6

This artwork is a meticulous imitation of a newspaper clipping, complete with a fold down the centre. However, the juxtaposition of the articles and the department store advertisement is fictional, and the bride in the advertisement is Gober himself, in an elaborately staged studio photograph.

Gober is interested in the ways news media reflects and shapes prejudices: ‘Some things would never appear on the wedding page, for instance. Never. But if there was anything about gay Americans and there happened to be an AIDS article, they always put them together’.

Gallery label, February 2026

Robert Gober, Untitled  1989–92

This is one of about ten leg sculptures Gober made in a two-year period. They were inspired by two formative experiences – a story his mother, who had been a nurse, told young Gober about being handed an amputated leg in the operating theatre. The second was as an adult, seeing a sliver of bare skin exposed by a fellow passenger crossing their legs on a flight. The artist said of his making process: ‘The hair on the leg is human and purchased from a wig supplier. The leg is a bleached beeswax cast of my lower leg. The hairs are implanted into the warmed-up beeswax, one by one, with a tool we crafted through trial and error in the studio.

Gallery label, August 2024

Robert Gober, Drain  1989, 2006

Each object in the installation that this work forms a part of is carefully made by hand. The sheets of wallpaper are individually screen-printed, the pewter drains were hand-moulded, and the paper bag with a logo is drawn in pencil by Gober. Though the doughnuts were deep fried by the artist, he worked with the sculpture conservator Christian Scheidemann to preserve them. They are injected with a synthetic resin to ensure their longevity. When it was first shown as one of two installations in a solo exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in the autumn of 1989, critical reviews prompted a debate about nudity and public attitudes towards sex. Elizabeth Hess, the writer for the Village Voice, concluded ‘The work is graphic but not in the least bit pornographic.’

Gallery label, August 2024