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Thomas Eggerer - Artists - Petzel Gallery

Thomas Eggerer (b. 1963 Munich, West Germany) was trained as a painter at the Art Academy in Munich. After moving to New York in 1994, he became part of the art collective Group Material. His practice now focuses on painting, drawing, and collage, and his works often portray figures in an abstract, surreal landscape. He is a regular faculty member at the MFA program at Bard College.

Solo exhibitions of his work have taken place at 15 Orient, Brooklyn; Maureen Paley, London; Galerie Bucholz, Cologne; Richard Telles, Los Angeles; Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands; Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany; and the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut among others.

In 2015, Eggerer participated in La Biennale de Lyon. His work has also been included in group exhibitions at David Zwirner, New York; Queer Thoughts, New York; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Brandhorst Museum, Munich; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna; White Columns, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Vancouver Art Gallery; CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco; and the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt among others.

His work is included in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art; Museum Brandhorst, Munich; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Sammlung Boros, Berlin; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut; and the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe, Germany among others.

Career Highlights

Thomas Eggerer - Artists - Petzel Gallery

The Privilege of the Roof, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 92 inches (121.9 x 233.7 cm)

1988  Begins studies at the Art Academy in Munich.

1994  Graduates from Art Academy and is awarded a DAAD scholarship. Moves to the USA where he continues to collaborate with former classmate Jochen Klein. Together they join the artist collective Group Material.

1995  Market, a show by Group Material, opens at the Kunstverein Munich.

1999  Galerie Buchholz in Cologne organizes Eggerer's first solo show.

2002  Nicholas Baume curates Anxious Pleasures – the first institutional exhibition of Eggerer’s work in the United States – at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.

2003  Atrium – a comprehensive career overview organized by Karola Kraus – opens at the Kunstverein Braunschweig in Germany.

Thomas Eggerer - Artists - Petzel Gallery

Thomas Eggerer: Corridor. Installation view, 2020, Petzel Gallery, New York.

2004  Eggerer’s first show with Petzel Gallery takes place.

2007  Ralph Rugoff includes Eggerer in the exhibition The Painting of Modern Life at the Hayward Gallery, London.

2008  The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands organizes Navigator – an exhibition in which Eggerer’s work was featured in dialogue with Dutch Golden Age masters Jacob van Ruisdael and Pieter Saenredam.

2012  Petzel hosts Preludes – an exhibition of three collaborative paintings between Thomas Eggerer and R.H. Quaytman.

2017  Jump into the Future: Art from the 90's and 2000's. The Borgmann Donation takes place at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

2020  Marking his 7th solo exhibition with Petzel, Eggerer shows a suite of new paintings.

2022  A survey of Eggerer's collages takes place at 15 Orient in Brooklyn.

Thomas Eggerer: Selected Collages, 2002 to 2022. Installation view, 2022. 15 Orient, Brooklyn.

Thomas Eggerer: Selected Collages, 2002 to 2022. Installation view, 2022. 15 Orient, Brooklyn.

Illiberal Arts. Installation view, 2021. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.

Illiberal Arts. Installation view, 2021. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.

Jana Euler & Thomas Eggerer. Installation view, 2020. Museum Brandhorst, Munich.

Jana Euler & Thomas Eggerer. Installation view, 2020. Museum Brandhorst, Munich.

Jump into the Future: Art from the 90's and 2000's - The Borgmann Donation. Installation view, 2017-18. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Jump into the Future: Art from the 90's and 2000's - The Borgmann Donation. Installation view, 2017-18. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Thomas Eggerer: Todd. Installation view, 2017. Petzel Gallery, New York.

Thomas Eggerer: Todd. Installation view, 2017. Petzel Gallery, New York.

La vie moderne – Biennale de Lyon 2015. Installation view, 2015-16.

La vie moderne – Biennale de Lyon 2015. Installation view, 2015-16.

Thomas Eggerer & R.H. Quaytman: Preludes. Installation view, 2012. Petzel Gallery, New York. 

Thomas Eggerer & R.H. Quaytman: Preludes. Installation view, 2012. Petzel Gallery, New York. 

Navigator: Thomas Eggerer in conversation with Jacob van Ruisdael and Pieter Saenredam. Installation view, 2008. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands.

Navigator: Thomas Eggerer in conversation with Jacob van Ruisdael and Pieter Saenredam. Installation view, 2008. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands.

Thomas Eggerer. Installation view, 2004, Petzel Gallery, New York.

Thomas Eggerer. Installation view, 2004, Petzel Gallery, New York.