Gaylen Gerber

(b. 1955)

Gaylen Gerber creates objects and surfaces with a sense of expansive possibility. In his Backdrop paintings, Gerber created paintings at the scale of gallery walls in a custom gray paint, using it as a backdrop for works by other artists. Gerber forged his career in Chicago. He is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute, where he has taught since 1987. His work was the subject of a solo show at the Renaissance Society in 1992. His 2013 exhibition at the MCA Chicago featured his Supports, in which he painted over a vast array of objects, including ancient Moche pottery, reliefs by artist Lucio Fontana, props from Quentin Tarantino films, and a concrete slab found on election night in 2008. By painting all the objects in gray and white, Gerber places them on a level playing field and allows them to take on a new depth of meaning outside of interpretive frameworks imposed by museums or value assigned by the art market.