Peter Hildebrand
	the queen and her drones, 1999 48" x 48" latex and enamel paint, tar, and joint compound on wood panel       tripping balzac, 1999 72" x 48" latex and enamel point, tar, and joint compound on wood panel       worry town, 1999 60" x 60" latex and enamel point, tar, and joint compound on wood panel
	Peter Hildebrand's recent paintings examine mortality, and the alarming fragility of the human body, referencing manufacturing and industrial imagery as a metaphor for issues of vulnerability, safety, and security. Functioning as both organic and mechanical objects, these structures represent living entities, fortified from within, and allude to unstable systems of flow and exchange. Self contained and isolated, nourishment and necessities flow in and out to maintain equilibrium and health. Like the body, these structures suffer various diseases, grow old, and crumble. According to Hildebrand, These works are intended to convey a sense of precariousness and pessimism about our ability to protect ourselves, both internally and externally, psychically and physically, and to question the systems we've established to ensure this protection. Conversely, as disjointed constructions that play with the idea of the absurd, they are also about the redeeming aspects of humor in the face of cynicism. In this coherent yet frustating association, he alludes to the visceral reality of site specific earthworks, such as Robert Smithson's Monuments of Passaic, and to repetitive, austere architectural imagery, such as the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The surface and the almost monochromatic palate that he creates (using tar, joint compound, latex, and enamel paint) are integral in developing his ideas of industrial/biological hybrids.
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	P   I   E   R   O   G   I 177 north 9th street brooklyn, ny 11211 718.599.2144 noon to 6p thursday through monday and by appointment pierogi is an innovative art gallery in williamsburg, brooklyn, new york