Thomas Demand

Exhibition Outline

Thomas Demand (born 1964) is one of the leading figures on the German contemporary art scene. He is famous for recreating a scene himself then photographing this to produce carefully constructed pictures. Demand often recreates scenes of political or social events made paper life-sized models, based on photographs from mass media, then photographs the result. He cuts common images out of ordinary daily life--a bathroom with a glimpse of the bathtub, and a sink full of unwashed dishes, which, at first glance, could almost be mistaken for the real thing, but closer inspection reveals that the space contains an unnaturally uniform texture, producing a strange feeling of wrongness. Significant places, psychological landscapes set against everyday backgrounds; Demand quietly confronts us with these in a thrilling fashion.

This exhibition will be the first in a Japanese museum to present a comprehensive view of Demand's activities, from his earliest works to his recent film pieces.



Exhibition Information
Period: May 19(Saturday) - June 8(Sunday) 2012
Closed on: Monday
Hours: 10:00-18:00 (Tickets available until 17:30)
Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Supported by: Institute für Auslandsbeziehungen e.V.
With the special cooperation of: Taka Ishii Gallery
In cooperation with: NEC Display Solutions, Ltd./ Sprüth Magers
Admission: Adult ¥1,000 (¥800) / University students & over 65yrs old ¥800 (¥640) /
High school & Junior high school student ¥500 (¥400) / Free for under Elementary school
*( ) price for a group, over 20 people
*Free entry to MOT collection for exhibition ticket holders
Catalogue: To be published in May 2012
Also Showing: Tokyo Wonder Wall May 26(Saturday) - June 17(Sunday) 2012
MOT Collection May 19(Saturday) - October 8(Monday, holiday) 2012
Bloomberg Pavilion Project: Yuko Mohri May 19(Saturday) - June 17(Sunday)

  • Badezimmer / Bathroom, 1997, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Matthew Marks

  • Kontrollraum / Control Room, 2011, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Sprüth Magers Berlin London and PKM Gallery, Seoul

  • Grotte / Grotto, 2006, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Matthew Marks

  • Studio, 1997, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Matthew Marks

  • Presidency I, 2008, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Matthew Marks

  • Spüle / Sink, 1997, C-Print/Diasec © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / APG-JAA, Tokyo Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Matthew Marks

Concurrent Exhibition

See Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions