The minimal visual language of Gregor Schneider (°1969, Rheydt, DE) combines the architecture of buildings with the symbolic layering of a city. The viewer moves through its rooms, cellars, containers and corridors, continually confronted with an unusual atmosphere. Fear and imagination go side by side and it is often unclear whether you are a visitor, housemate or intruder. When Schneider's parental home in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt was declared uninhabitable, due to the pollution of a close by factory where his father was director, the foundations for his artistic practice were laid. While renovating the house, the artist’ desire to create elements that completely surround us while remaining invisible developed. Gregor Schneider describes it as a form of 'Begreifen': to come to understanding through possibilities and actions. Building, moving, copying, duplicating and repeating the constructions is done intuitively at first. Later, overview and control take over the process.
