Exhibitions - Review

Within the Open Art we opened the exhibition "Op Art = Illusion" on September 9 at Galerie Thomas with works by:

Yaakov Agam, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Francis Celentano, Julio Le Parc, Wolfgang Ludwig, Adolf Luther, Almir Mavignier, Francois Morellet, Heinz Mack, Bridget Riley, Jesús Rafael Soto, Victor Vasarely, Ludwig Wilding

After these artist had been shown in the legendary exhibition "The Responsive Eye" in the Museum of Modern Art New York in 1965, Op Art – and the concept – had established overnight. Op Art was a rational, ordered response to the chaos and intuition of Abstract Expressionism. Its impact derives from the tension between negative and positive shapes and lines, which can be further reinforced by the skilful selection of colours, as well as from the way in which the human brain (mis-)interprets what the eye sees.

Film on the opening of the OP ART exhibition in Munich

Detailed information on the exhibition OP ART

From May 5 to July 23, 2011 we simultaneously showed a comprehensive exhibition, utilizing the locations of our two autonomous galleries, Galerie Thomas at Maximilianstrasse and Galerie Thomas Modern at Tuerkenstrasse. We planpresented selected works from 1900 to the present day, which address artistic work within family constellations. Artworks by spouses, common law partnerships, parents and children as well as siblings built the centre of the exhibition 'Familiy Ties'.

 Opening May 6, 2010

 Opening January 28, 2010

November 5, 2009 (Vernissage)

Colour as artistic basis and subject, as a source of inspiration and eminent creative instrument. "Farbklänge" (Colour Sounds) shows works by international artists of the last five decades, like the great magicians of colour, Rupprecht Geiger, Gotthard Graubner and the Op-Art artists Victor Vasarely and Yaakov Agam, who - like Günter Fruhtrunk - bring geometric shapes into perfect harmony with colour. Sam Francis' lyrical abstractions are also represented, as well as the neo-conceptional colour field painting of Peter Halley.

In Germany, the country of origin of Expressionism, there has been no comprehensive presentation of the works of Chaim Soutine since 1981/82 in Münster and Tübingen, and even German museums hold only few of his paintings, unlike museums in the United States. That added to the importance of the exhibition at Galerie Thomas, especially since paintings from private collections, discovered after the publication of the catalogue of his complete works, were presented to the public for the first time.

A comprehensive catalogue (texts in German and English) accompanied the exhibition. It contains an extensive essay by the Soutine experts Maurice Tuchman and Esti Dunow, describing the fascinating life and work of the artist who was born in 1893 in Smilovichi near Minsk, Russia, and died in 1943 in Paris, and it offers a thorough presentation of the individual works on display.

We are pleased to present to you a comprehensive solo exhibition of the internationally
renowned artist Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) at Galerie Thomas. He is considered one
of the eminent sculptors of his generation. The exhibition, comprising sculptures,
drawings, collages and graphic works, spans almost forty years and highlights different
aspects of his multifaceted OEvre.

Take a look at the exhibition catalogue.

Here you find Press Reviews on the exhibition.

Please find a selection of the exhibited works in the listing below.
For concrete requests visit us at Galerie Thomas, Maximilianstrass 25, Munich,
or contact us at +49 89 29 000 80.

With Josef Albers—Donald Judd—Peter Halley, Galerie Thomas showcased works by three protagonists of the abstract art of the 20th/21st century who intensely dealt with the various aspects of colour and form.

Parallel to the magnificent museum exhibitions at the Lenbachhaus, Munich, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and the Guggenheim Museum, New York, Galerie Thomas managed to exhibit an important group of nine watercolours by the artist. These works were made between 1905 and 1940, thus covering Kandinsky’s entire oeuvre.

A comprehensive catalogue accompanied the Kandinsky Watercolours exhibition (texts in German and English).

The exhibition series Meisterwerke [Masterpieces] was continued in Spring 2008. This time, an important collection of outstanding masterpieces of German expressionism was the focus. The exhibition comprised exemplary works by Beckmann, Campendonk, Jawlensky, Kirchner, Macke, Marc, Mueller, Nolde, and Schmidt-Rottluff—the great names of German Expressionism.

A comprehensive hardcover catalogue with numerous coloured illustrations and texts on the background and history of the paintings accompanied the exhibition.

As a result of many years of friendship, we were entrusted with a unique collection of more than 60 paintings, gouaches, drawings, and prints by Otto Mueller. Following the exhibitions with works by Otto Mueller in the years 1979 and 1988, the gallery was able to hold another solo exhibition of the artist. A comprehensive catalogue with a foreword by Mario-Andreas von Lüttichau accompanied the exhibition.

Using the original woodcut block of Potsdamer Kunstsommer 1921—Große Sitzende, thirty numbered impressions were issued on yellowish paper on occasion of the exhibition, plus five Roman numbered impressions h.c. with the stamp of Galerie Thomas. (For more information and illustrations, see below.)

The monumental sculptures by Fernando Botero were on display for two months in Berlin, in front of the Brandenburg Gate and in the Lustgarten on Museum Island. Fifteen of the works that weigh tons were in the Lustgarten, whereas one—the Horse—stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
The project was presented by the Columbian embassy, under the patronage of the City of Berlin, and was significantly supported by Galerie Thomas. With more than 350,000 visitors, the exhibition was a great success.

The coffee-table book Botero in Berlin—Monumentalskulpturen documents the entire exhibition—from the making of the sculptures to the opening of the exhibition in Berlin—and is also an homage to one of the greatest contemporary artists, who was honoured with several exhibitions around the world in 2007, on occasion of his 75th birthday, including one at our gallery in Munich.

Alexander Archipenko
Guest: Galerie Simonis (African Art)

In spring 2007, our exhibition series Meisterwerke [Masterpieces] was continued with twelve remarkable works of German Expressionism: outstanding paintings by Lovis Corinth, Max Beckmann, Alexej Jawlensky, Paul Klee, Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner, August Macke, Otto Mueller, Gabriele Münter, Emil Nolde, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.

The comprehensive and elaborately designed catalogue Meisterwerke III accompanied the exhibition.

On occasion of the 70th birthday of Frank Stella and in the framework of OPEN ART, we showcased a selection of his works included in the group of three-dimensional objects inspired by Heinrich von Kleist as well as other works from earlier creative phases.

“What you see is what you see.” With this statement, the artist summarised the basic philosophy of his work: the viewer shall be able to see and experience it without previous knowledge.

His Minimalist Black Paintings that were first exhibited in 1959 give special emphasis to surface. They show black stripes, arranged as symmetrical patterns, with light stripes of canvas between them.
Already in 1970, a large retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York allowed the then 34-year-old artist to draw a first balance of his works.
In the early 1970s, Stella blurred the borders between painting and relief with his series of Shaped Canvases.
In the 1980s, he ventured further into the third dimension by creating hanging sculptures which he called paintings: “A sculpture is but a painting that has been cut out and set up somewhere.” In the 1990s, he had fully arrived at three-dimensionality with a series of dense, abstract sculptures made of found and cast pieces of metal. Inspired by the works of the German poet Heinrich von Kleist, he created an unparalleled complex of works. These often large-format structures—coloured at first, but then unpainted—with their winding, bending, and layered shapes convey a sense of pulsating spontaneity.

“I find sometimes I get so excited working, especially when starting new ideas; I get so excited that I get uncomfortable. It almost feels... like I’m flirting with something dangerous.” Tom Wesselmann

The exhibition offered a comprehensive overview of the works of this major representative of Pop Art. During the opening, the gallery served POPcorn and Prosecco.

"I love putting things together. I have realised that my way of thinking is collage.”   Louise Nevelson 1975      

Louise Nevelson, born 1899 in Kiev as the daughter of a timber merchant, is now considered the most famous American female sculptor, a legend in her own lifetime on account of her powerful works, her striking beauty, and her unconventional lifestyle. 

Her wall-filling objects are marked by their consistent monochrome colours—often black, but sometimes white or gold—which release the heterogeneous elements from their original purpose and subject them to new aesthetic categories.

The exhibited drawings were taken from carnets no. 067 from 1923 and no. 1135 from 1959. Another drawing was made in 1920. This exhibition was the second in a series we commenced in February 2004 with the exhibition Pablo Picasso - Erotisches aus seinem Zeichenblock [Pablo Picasso - Erotic Drawings from his Sketch Pad].