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

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...

 he left Nürnberg in 1985 to study fine art at the Berlin University of the Arts

Berlin University of the Arts

The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...

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

Free University of Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

. 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 greencard

United States Permanent Resident Card

United States lawful permanent residency refers to a person's immigration status: the person is authorized to live and work in the United States of America on a permanent basis....

 and moved to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

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

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

In 2004 he moved back to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 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 Berlin http://www.kunsthalle-berlin.com on Schlossplatz at the heart of Berlin.

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 photografic 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 on 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 THE bounty, or THE objectile 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 on 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 euclidian notion of space. but, in a precarious switch of perspectives, makes the viewer the essential focus of the image.

Awards

2006 Käthe-Kollwitz-Preis of the Akademie der Künste zu Berlin

2000 Villa Romana prize

Villa Romana prize

The Villa Romana Prize, which has been awarded since 1905, is the oldest German art prize.The Villa Romana was acquired in 1905 by Max Klinger for 60,000 gold liras....

1996 Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Stipendium

External links

• http://www.thomaseller.com
• http://www.artnet.de
• http://www.thewhitemale.info
• http://www.thefastbuilding.com
• http://www.kunsthalle-berlin.com