Robert Gober’s art has lost none of its unsettling visual and narrative momentum since the first works were acquired in 1995. This is clearly confirmed by the most recent acquisitions of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation. Untitled (2020–2021) consists of a window that functions like a stage or a small diorama, without indicating the view it might afford nor whether it faces the world outside or inside. Moreover, what appears to be an assemblage of found objects has actually been painstakingly handcrafted. The tree trunk is handmade with epoxy putty, cast gypsum polymer, acrylic paint, and boar’s hair. What looks like a softly falling curtain is actually fabric hardened with plaster, while the mullion and handle of the window, made of wood and modeling clay, have been painted to look weathered.

Untitled once again embodies an approach as concentrated as it is playful, which holds Gober’s work in abeyance between showing and hiding, between ordinary and mysterious. It is one of a new group of works created in New York during the months of isolation imposed by Covid-19. Contact with the outside world was restricted and cropped, like the view from the window.