Thiel's exhibition is comprised of fifteen large-scale color photographs that document the ongoing reconstruction of the city of Berlin. Whilst he has been photographing Berlin for over ten years, Thiel's monumental works are not merely documentation, but picture a city reborn after a tumultuous history. Thiel refers to Berlin as 'the youngest city in the world' and furthermore states that 'the city suffers from an overdose of history'.
Sean Kelly Gallery is delighted to announce the first major North American
gallery exhibition of photographs by German artist Frank Thiel who recently
joined the gallery.
Thiel's exhibition is comprised of fifteen large-scale color photographs
that document the ongoing reconstruction of the city of Berlin. Whilst he
has been photographing Berlin for over ten years, Thiel's monumental works
are not merely documentation, but picture a city reborn after a tumultuous
history. Thiel refers to Berlin as "the youngest city in the world" and
furthermore states that "the city suffers from an overdose of history". Yet
it does not suffer from its sediments like other European cities, but from
the consequences of its eruptions. The whole city is an urban and spiritual
patchwork of the beginning of the 21st century." The architectural spaces
in these photographs are not only reflections of a turbulent social and
political history, but of the emergence of new patterns of urban existence.
Previous bodies of work have focused on such topics as state surveillance
and the privatization of public space.
Thiel has exhibited widely in museums and galleries worldwide; his works are
included in the collections of many prominent international museums. Recent
solo exhibitions have included: City TV (Berlin), Ileana Tounta
Contemporary Art Center, Athens; Galeria Helga de Alvear, Madrid; Galerie
Art+Public, Geneva; IMAGO¹99, Universidad de Salamanca, Centro de
Fotografia, Patio de Escuelas; Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago
de Compostela; Statements, Art28 Basel, Basel. Selected group exhibitions
have included: CTRL [Space] Rhetorics of Surveillance from Bentham to Big
Brother, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe; SK 76 / 2-Mp
(XIII), Art Unlimited, Art32 Basel, Basel; 90 60 90, Museo Jacobo Borges,
Caracas; Remake Berlin, Fotomuseum Winterthur; dAPPERTutto, 48. Biennale di
Venezia, Venice; Le corps évanoui, les images subites, Musée de l¹Elysée,
Lausanne; After The Wall, Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
The opening of the exhibition will take place on
Saturday, February 9th from 6pm until 8pm.
The artist will be present.
Forthcoming exhibitions include: Frank Thiel, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg; XXV.
Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo; Human Park, Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona;
Agua. - Wasser, Mexico City; BrasÃlia  Ruina e Utopia, Centro Cultural
Banco do Brasil, BrasÃlia.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11am until 6pm.
Sean Kelly Gallery
528 West 29th Street NYC 10001 New York
ph 212.2391181