The Playlist Behind the Paintings: Gregor Hildebrandt Shares the Music Inspiring Him

Music is at the centre of Gregor Hildebrandt’s practice, present even when inaudible. For over two decades, the Berlin-based artist has translated the emotional and ephemeral qualities of music into sculptures and paintings, charging them with a resonance that speaks to nostalgia, loss, and the persistence of cultural memory. On the occasion of his new solo exhibition Auf Falscher Seite in die Falsche Richtung at Almine Rech, London – on view until 26 July 2025 – Hildebrandt shares with Something Curated a very personal selection of music that has inspired his practice. As he puts it, elaborating on the show: “I wanted to make paintings that were like pieces of music. […It is] important to me… that these good songs are not forgotten.”

The Cure – The Figurehead

I could identify with The Figurehead by The Cure very much, especially with the lines: “I can never say no to anyone but you” and “I can lose myself in Chinese art and American girls”. For my first large cassette collage in 2000, I used this song – and this work serves as “the figurehead” of my series of cassette collages.

Stephan Eicher – Wie Einem Der Gewissheit Hat

I conceived an entire exhibition based upon this song: my Jade Show which opened in September 2013 at the Wentrup Gallery. The invitation card itself was a flexi-disc with a song by Stephan Eicher, which he set to music for me especially for this show based on a poem by Alexander Losse. There was one of my two-part “rip-off” works included with the poem.

ROSIN – Spring 20

This song is by my daughter Greta, who performed at the opening of my exhibition at Almine Rech on Friday 6 June 2025. While I was cycling to see her in London, I came up with the idea for the exhibition title, AUF FALSCHER SEITE IN DIE FALSCHE RICHTUNG, which means “on the wrong side in the wrong direction“. Greta first studied at BIMM in Berlin and then continued her studies in singing and songwriting in Brighton. She has already released several songs.

PAAR – Vane

Ly Nguyen, the singer in PAAR, was a student in my class at the Munich Art Academy. During a discussion about her preliminary diploma, she played for me the song Vane, along with various paintings she was showing. This song immediately captivated me. I suggested she play with her band at the students’ annual exhibition. Since I had a record pressed for the cover of the catalogue of my exhibition Urlaub im Urban (Vacation in Urban), Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2016, the contacts with records manufacturers had already been established, and I wanted to hear the music again and again. Her band, PAAR, actually triggered the idea for founding our record label Grzegorzki Records in 2018 and it was the first band we presented with the label.

Tocotronic  – Dein Geheimer Name

The German band Tocotronic has accompanied me throughout my student years to the present day. This song is a big reference for my current exhibition at Almine Rech, London. My audiotape collage titled „Ist dein geheimer Name (Toco)” (2016), which is made out of audiotapes recorded with this song, leads the viewers into the exhibition space. It is hung on the blue record wall at the entrance and greets the viewer. It also carries the word “Name” readable from right to left, as if mirrored. The placement of the painting echoes for me a line from the lyrics “wenn wir auf der schwelle stehen” (“When we stand on the threshold”). Opposite, offset and mirrored, hangs the negative counterpart of this painting, „die Geste, die uns führt (Toco)” (2016).



Feature image: Gregor Hildebrandt, Die Hoffnung der Notwendigkeit, 2018. © Gregor Hildebrandt / Courtesy of the Artist and Almine Rech. Photo: Roman März