Almine Rech Editions is pleased to present schwarzes Bianco, a collaborative edition by artists Gregor Hildebrandt and Yasmin Müller. For this edition, the two artists combine typical aspects of their practice to create a hybrid chess set that underlines the oppositional and complementary elements at stake in the game.

​The chessboard of the edition is rooted in one of Hildebrandt’s latest paintings, entitled Die Tage spiegeln sich in den Nächten und umgekehrt (D.T.i.e.D (E.N.)) [The days are reflected in the nights and vice versa (D.T.i.e.D (E.N.)] (2022). The painting is a rare piece amongst Hildebrandt’s series of “rip-off” tape collages. Known as one of the artist’s signature techniques, this process usually results in two separate paintings depicting a positive and negative version of the same motif. Die Tage spiegeln sich in den Nächten und umgekehrt (D.T.i.e.D (E.N.)) plays with this duality by juxtaposing both parts, positive and negative, on a single canvas instead of two. For schwarzes Bianco’s chessboard, Hildebrandt applied the exact same process, dubbing an audio cassette with the same song, “Der Tot ist ein Dandy” by the band Einstürzende Neubauten, before pulling out the tape from its cassette shell and applying it to the right side of the board, then ripping it off and pasting it onto the left side.

​Accordingly, schwarzes Bianco’s chessboard presents the complementary parts of the song in the black-and-white entanglement of its checkered pattern, underlining Hildebrandt’s fascination with the concept of the mise-en-abîme.

schwarzes Bianco is sold in a case designed by the artists.