Thomas Demand

Thomas Demand’s Pond (2020) presents a view of nature that is clichéd in its tranquillity. Water lilies have traditionally symbolized purity and rebirth, reproducing in water rather than in soil. Sprouts of reeds appear from between the mysterious lipped pads as clouds above place some of them in shadow. Borrowing a trope from art history, and in a composition that has no shore, this play of light across the scene emphasizes its dreamlike serenity.

The second part of the exhibition presents new works from the Model Studies series, a departure in Demand’s own practice in its portrayal of models not of his own making, but to date those of architects John Lautner, SANAA and Hans Hollein.