Thomas Rentmeister, Untitled, 2016
, Pattex on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
Kollitsch Collection

A wide range of materials form the starting point for Thomas Rentmeister’s artistic approach in his varied works such as banal everyday objects, food and traces of everyday life. The forms and surface designs of the exhibits on display in the exhibition based on familiar materials such as Pattex (Untitled, 2016), used document files (Untitled, 2013) or the smooth surface of polyester sculptures (Untitled, 2004) provide the observer with a multi-layered ambiguity of interpretation which stands in direct correlation to the individually linked associations with specific things or personal experiences. 

Thomas Rentmeister, Untitled, 2004
, Polyester, 57 x 97 x 94 cm
Kollitsch Collection

Thomas Rentmeister has been working on a technical and elaborate group of polyester sculptures since the 1990s. The objects in various pastel colour gradations of brown with shiny smooth surfaces go beyond the rational and tangible and are both fascinating and mysterious in their presence. Guided by the tempting appeal of the unknown, an ambivalent emotion of respectful distance and the desire for fleeting touch is triggered upon observing the works.

Thomas Rentmeister, Untitled, 2013
, Paperboard, wood, glass, 107 x 86 x 4.5 cm
Kollitsch Collection

Thomas Rentmeister’s multi-faceted oeuvre features a great range of materials, such as banal everyday objects, food products, or elements from daily life, which form the starting point of his artistic dialogue.  Viewers are confronted with a multi-layered ambiguity of interpretation, which stands in direct correlation to the individual associations evoked by certain objects or personal experiences, in turn brought about by everyday materials that are used for shaping the piece or finishing its surface, for instance multi-purpose glue, used lever-arch files, or the mirror-smooth surface of his polyester sculptures.