Thomas Eller (born 8 September 1964) is a German visual artist and writer. Born and raised in the German district of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

he left

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

in 1985 to study fine art at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

. After his forced dismission he studied sciences of religion, philosophy and art history at

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. During this time he was also working as a scientific assistant at the Science Center Berlin for Social Research (WZB). From 1990 he exhibited extensively in European museums and galleries. In 1995 he obtained his

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Next he participated in exhibitions in museums and galleries in the Americas,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. In 2004 he moved back to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and founded an online arts magazine on the internet platform artnet. As managing director he developed the Chinese business team and was instituting several cooperations e.g. with Art Basel and the Federal German Gallery Association (BVDG). In 2008 he became artistic director of Temporäre Kunsthalle Berli

on Schlossplatz at the heart of Berlin. He is now the President of

Ran Dian ''Ran Dian'' is a Hong Kong-based, international contemporary art magazine, published bilingually in English and Mandarin. It aims both to promote independent cultural debate in China and to foster intellectual exchange between China and the re ...

, a Hong Kong-based, contemporary art magazine with a focus on Asia.

The Art

On a formal level Thomas Eller's art is concerned with the relationship between the second, third and fourth dimensions. His photo-sculptures are made from cut-out photographic prints laminated on aluminum that are hung in front of the wall, placed on the floor, or suspended in space by means of hidden constructions made from aluminum. By cutting out photographed objects it is not the spatial context that is being removed, but the temporal. The reason being that the viewers perspective on an object is forever determined at the moment of release of the camera's shutter. According to Roland Barthes a photographic image is a window into the past. By cutting out an object, it is the temporal context that is being removed while the object is being placed into the "now" of the viewer's immediate sculptural perception. However, the photographic object manifests a spatial concept alien to the viewer's. For example: taking a photograph of an object form above will always result in an image with that perspective. If one takes this photo-object and places it over the viewer's head one makes the physical experience of looking up. This conflict of looking up and down at the same time can not be resolved, which constitutes the photo-objects as intermediaries between the two and three-dimensional realms. They could be appropriately described as apparitions. In different work groups like , or Thomas Eller explores more complex temporal structures. Placing the same objects at different instances in time in juxtaposition but on different spatial levels the viewer is enabled to make an unusual visual experience. By focussing on different levels of the same object one at a time the spatial juxtaposition is being transformed into a temporal sequence, creating the experience of a "sculptural" video. It is only in the viewer's mind that the different spatial planes become sensical. The artist calls this "Vision Beyond Photography": photography's physical and philosophical concepts are basically 600 years old. The camera essentially is central perspective become machine and therefore a pre-modern imaging medium. In his work the artist breaks with this limitation. Engaging the viewer in the visual constitution of the art works does not only assign a place for photography beyond the euclidean notion of space but, in a precarious switch of perspectives, makes the viewer the essential focus of the image.

Awards

* 2006 Käthe Kollwitz Prize of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

* 2000 Villa Romana prize
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References

External links

* http://www.thomaseller.com * http://www.artnet.de * http://www.thewhitemale.info * http://www.thefastbuilding.com * http://www.kunsthalle-berlin.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Eller, Thomas German artists Living people 1964 births Berlin University of the Arts alumni