installation view of peter downsbrough exhibition courtesy barbara krakow gallery

belgium-based artist peter downsbrough is currently exhibiting at barbara krakow gallery. the artist trained as an architect, uses lines and words to explode his reviewers’ assumptions about space and language.

peter downsbrough at the barbara krakow gallery, bostonBUT, 2009 1/2" pipe painted black and black self-adhesive letters stamped and dated on an accompanying certificate courtesy barbara krakow gallery

the pipe, hanging from a cup hook on the ceiling and brushing the floor, is perfectly vertical. the column tapers upward, so its lines are not vertical. but it’s part of the architecture and has the conceptual gravity of classical design, so the eye assumes that the column is straight and the pipe tilts. there’s a compulsion to choose: which line is more true? but (as the title suggests) it’s more interesting to hold the question open and watch your mind work around it.

peter downsbrough at the barbara krakow gallery, bostoninstallation view courtesy barbara krakow gallery

peter downsbrough at the barbara krakow gallery, bostonset, as (reversed), 2009 black paint and black self-adhesive letters stamped and dated on an accompanying certificate courtesy barbara krakow gallery

peter downsbrough’s exhibition runs till 15 april, 09. the artist was born in 1940, new brunswick, new jersey lives and works in brussels, belgium.