Thomas Kratz, Untitled, 2012, Acryl und Tinte auf gefärbter Sackleinwand, 80 x 60 cm, Courtesy der Künstler und Croy Nielsen, Berlin, © Thomas Kratz und VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2012

Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein
Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein
Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein
Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein
Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein
Thomas Kratz, Ausstellungsansicht, Foto: Philipp Ottendörfer, © Bielefelder Kunstverein

Thomas Kratz

AUGUST 25 – NOVEMBER 04, 2012

OPENING: FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 19 PM

Thomas Kratz thinks of himself as a painter first and foremost. His work develops out of fundamental themes from the histories of art and of contemporary affairs and out of the conditions governing colour, form and material and it denotes the conscious juxtaposition of artistic concepts. Most recently, his work has been marked by an intensive concern with portraits and with representing human skin tones. In this process, Kratz understands the unprimed, open-pored canvas as a membrane. It defines the boundaries between inside and outside, image and viewer, figuration and abstraction. And at the same time, it renders these things fluid. In addition, Kratz creates sculptures and performances, which appear to contrast with his painterly work, but only at first glance. He has a particular penchant for elevating everyday objects into cultic ones and for reinterpreting iconographic figures, in order to integrate them into his own ritualistic, and in part surrealistic, games in space.

New paintings and murals have been created for the exhibtion at the Bielefelder Kunstverein, continuing his engagement with body images and portraits. Alongside these, Kratz investigates the possibilities of presenting painting to suit the times and sets it up in an intensive dialogue with  the architectural space.

Thomas Kratz, born 1972 in Waiblingen (Germany), lives and works in Berlin. He studied at the University for Design in Karlsruhe and at the Royal College of Art in London. Moreover he was master student in the class of Günther Förg at the Academy of Visual Arts in Munich. Lately his works have been shown in various solo exhibitions, amongst others at Croy Nielsen, Berlin (2010 and 2012) and Kate MacGarry, London (2008), as well as in Center in Berlin (2007) and at kunstraum, Munich (2007). Besides he participated in numerous international group shows, amongst others in Portrait of Space, Clonlea Studios Co., Dublin, Ireland (2011), Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line, Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2010), Supernature an Exercise in Loads, AMP Gallery, Athen, Greece (2010) and in Günther Förg & Thomas Kratz, behindthewindow, Munich, Germany (2008).

Curator: Thomas Thiel

 

Exhibition support:

 

Supported by: