Robert Gober's Blasphemous Installation at Matthew Marks Gallery Critiques Religion and Politics

Robert Gober's exhibit at Matthew Marks Gallery, which runs until April 23, reimagines the 523 W. 24th Street venue as a space reminiscent of a church. At its core, a decapitated Christ figure serves as a fountain, with water cascading from its breasts into a drain below. Surrounding this crucifix are commonplace items like a plastic garden chair, a rubber glove, and oversized lightbulbs. The walls display New York Times pages covering the September 11 attacks, interspersed with personal gouache artworks. Behind the altar, two anterooms showcase bathtubs with bathers’ legs engrossed in the Starr Report. Gober has meticulously crafted the installation's bronze-cast flotsam, driftwood, and trash cans. His 1997 piece at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art also stirred debate with a giant Madonna pierced by a culvert. An openly gay former altar boy, Gober intertwines Catholic symbols with political commentary, linking the 9/11 tragedy to the Starr Report investigation through his blend of sacred and secular handmade objects.