German
Basic data
Thomas Demand is a German contemporary sculptor and photographer whose work explores complex themes of memory and recall, medium and reproduction, as well as reality and image.
- Born: 1964
- Place of birth: Munich, Bavaria
- Nationality: German
- Studied at: Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Goldsmiths College London
- Similar artists: Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer
- Era: Contemporary art
Based on photographs, his images often show deserted architectures of socio-politically explosive events that have become anchored in the collective consciousness. Demand meticulously reconstructs these out of paper and cardboard, then photographs them before destroying them again. Thus, all that remains for the viewer is the hyper-realistic photograph as a testimony to a past memory, an unreal-super-real image with which the artist simultaneously questions the authenticity of his images and the perception of their viewers.
Biography
Thomas Demand was born in Munich in 1964. He studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, where he was a student of Bernd Becher, among others. He later continued his studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.
Demand is known for creating detailed, life-size models of interiors, objects, and scenes out of paper and cardboard. These models are often recreations of places or objects that have played a role in the media or in public memory. In doing so, he explores themes of memory, representation, and the fleeting nature of perception. His works challenge the viewer to think about the relationship between image, reality, and meaning in our media-driven world.
Demand's artworks have been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Today, the artist lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles.
Exhibitions
- 09.10.21 - 06.03.22 THOMAS DEMAND: MUNDO DE PAPEL - Centro Botín, Santander.
- 11.09.21 - 30.01.22 Thomas Demand - Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow.
- 20.03.21 - 23.01.22 So wie wir sind 3.0 - Weserburg | Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen.
- 14.11.20 - 31.05.21 Crossing Borders, Sammeln für die Zukunft – Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden.
- 31.10.20 - 05.04.21 IN ALLER MUNDE ...- Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg.
- 09.10.20 - 18.04.21 Thomas Demand - HOUSE OF CARD - M - Museum Leuven.
- 24.09.20 - 10.01.21 WE NEVER SLEEP - Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
- 14.11.20 - 30.04.21 Forty Years Of Contemporary Art: Ensembles And Installations From The Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation – Kunstmuseum Basel.
- 07.03.20 - 21.06.20 Körper. Blicke. Macht. Eine Kulturgeschichte des Bades - Kunsthalle Baden-Baden.
- 15.02.20 - 10.01.21 So wie wir sind 2.0 - Weserburg | Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen.
- 12.07.19 - 06.01.20 Nachts. Zwischen Traum und Wirklichkeit - Haus der Kunst, Munich.
- 22.06.19 - 29.09.19 HERE WE ARE TODAY. DAS BILD DER WELT IN FOTO- & VIDEOKUNST - Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg.
- 22.02.19 - 30.06.19 Lust der Täuschung. Von antiker Kunst bis zur Virtual Reality - Ludwig Forum, Aachen.
- 08.06.18 - 26.08.19 Triennale der Photographie Hamburg [CONTROL] NO CONTROL - Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
- 23.03.18 - 29.07.18 Image Profile. Aspekte des Dokumentarischen in der fotografischen Sammlung des MMK - MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt.
Awards
- 2018: Berlin Grand Art Prize.
- 2003: Scholarship holder at the German Academy Rome Villa Massimo.
Films
- Das Spiel mit der Erinnerung - Die Bilderwelt des Thomas Demand, documentary by Jeremy JP Fakete, 26 min, Germany 2011.
Literature
- Thomas Demand. Executive, Susanne Koppensteiner (Publ.), Cologne 2012.
- Thomas Demand und die Nationalgalerie, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Thomas Demand, Cologne 2009.
- Thomas Demand. Phototrophy, Eckhard Schneider (Publ.), Munich 2004.
Collections
Germany
- Berlin - me Collectors Room Berlin
- Berlin - nbk Neuer Berliner Kunstverein
- Frankfurt - DZ BANK Kunstsammlung
- Munich - Artothek München
- Düsseldorf - K20/K21 - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen
- Düsseldorf - JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION DÜSSELDORF
- Duisburg - MKM Museum Küppersmühle
- Frankfurt - Sammlung Deutsche Bank
- Stuttgart - Sammlung Landesbank Baden-Würtemberg
- Bonn - Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
- Leipzig - gfzk | Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
France
- Paris - Fondation Cartier
England
- London - Zabludowicz Collection
Spain
- Barcelona - MACBA Barcelona
Canada
- Ottawa - National Gallery of Canada
- Ottawa - Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
Weblinks
- Thomas Demand Kunstaspekte Exhibition and collection overview.
- www.thomasdemand.info Official website of the artist.
