Thomas Riess merges figuration and abstraction into dream‑like imagery that playfully questions perception and identity.
In Wonderland, Kerber Verlag presents works by Vienna‑based artist Thomas Riess (*1970) from the past seven years. Working primarily in painting and video, Riess engages deeply with the complex themes of time and reality. His works depict mystical landscapes, abstract forms, and dissolving figures – everything seems to oscillate between being and appearance, reality and illusion, event and memory.
At the heart of his art is often the human figure in a media‑saturated society. In a masterful technique and with painstaking craftsmanship, Thomas Riess moves skillfully between figuration and abstraction – deliberately stimulating the viewer’s imagination. He draws from advertising and fashion imagery, using the flood of media images as nearly inexhaustible source material.
For his “icons,” “models,” and “idols,” Riess appropriates magazine images, staging them before monochrome or diffusely suggestive backgrounds. The portrayed figures remain anonymous: their faces are overpainted with abstract gestures, their identities consciously erased. This subtle alienation opens up new levels of meaning – making what is unseen the very focus.
In an age of fast and superficial image consumption, Thomas Riess challenges our habitual modes of seeing, inviting a more mindful gaze at the image and its construction. His paintings and video works are not only aesthetically compelling but also disquieting and provocative. They remind us of our own impermanence and treat existence as a constant flow of the ephemeral.
Accompanying the monograph, Thomas Riess is featured in several exhibitions: his solo show “Behind the Curtain” runs from 12 September to 19 October 2025 at VIOLETTI ARTE CONTEMPORANEA in Siena, Italy. From 18 October onward, he participates in the group exhibition “MOMENTUM – On the Art of Pausing Time” at Museum Angerlehner in Wels. Also in October, works by the artist will be shown at House of Arts – Hangar‑7 in Salzburg.
‘Wonderland’ by Thomas Riess / Kerber Verlag
August 2025 · 192 pages · 21 × 28 cm · 99 color illustrations · Hardcover
ISBN: 978‑3‑7356‑1041‑6 · Languages: German / English
Texts by: Silvie Aigner, Franzobel, Karin Pernegger, Gerda Ridler, Tina Teufel
Design by: Arnold Mario Dall’O, RepublicofwellcomeCommunication (Lana, Italy)