Javier Peres is showcasing Blair Thurman’s sculpture and art in an exhibition at his Berlin gallery Peres Projects. Pictured from left: Method Artist, (Road Runner), 2015, Pencil Me In-side, 2015 and Pushin’ Up Daisies From a Pine Box, 2008 - 2015
Berlin-based Cuban Javier Peres is staging a debut show of American artist Blair Thurman at his gallery, Peres Projects. 'Thurman is an artist with an exceptional, hands-on practice – one who I have been watching grow for some years now,' he says.
Now living in New York, Thurman grew up in Boston, spending much of his time among the leading minds of new media and pop artists like Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik and Carl Andre at the city’s Institute of Contemporary Art where his mother was the director.
He started creating in the 1980s with a desire to break out of the constraints of the prevailing artistic theories. For the show, Thurman continues to mine new meanings from many continuing, serialising forms. ‘I find his treatment of materials and painterly approach simultaneously raw and refined. I became quite fascinated with the way he deals with serial forms – this 'signature content' that he incorporates gets reanimated with new colours and details, and its this continuous reproduction that creates such lasting imagery for me,’ Peres explains.
Thurman has grounded his work on his boyhood interests and memories; instinctive ideas that came to him before knowledge could get in the way of his artist consciousness; inevitably those memories reference diverse facets of Americana. New large-scale pop minimalist paintings are made for the show, Nine Gates and Gringo (FMH), further straddle the boundaries of both conventional painting and sculpture.
A group of his signature neon sculptures will also be displayed at the show which runs till 19 December.
The American artist started creating works in the 1980s with a desire to break out of the constraints of the prevailing artistic theories. Left: Method Artist, (Road Runner), 2015. Right: Pencil Me In-side, 2015
Thurman grew up in Boston, spending much of his time among the leading minds of new media and pop artists. Left: Pushin' Up Daisies From a Pine Box, 2008 - 2015. Right: Pencil Me In, 2015
Thurman has grounded his work on his boyhood interests and memories. Left: Gringo (FMH), 2015. Right: Ticonderoga (Pencil Me In), 2015
A group of his signature neon sculptures are also on display. Left: Waffle House in the Nick of Time, 2015. Right: Nine Gates, 2015
Blair Thurman is on show till 19 December. Left: Gaslight, 2015. Right: Green Party, 2015
INFORMATION
Blair Thurman is on show at Peres Project till 19 Decemer. For more information, visit the website
Photography courtesy of Peres Projects
ADDRESS
Karl-Marx-Allee 82
10243 Berlin
Germany
-
Meet Malak Mattar, the Palestinian artist behind the 'Together for Palestine' concert at London's Wembley ArenaThe London-based artist curates a landmark concert of music and art in support of Gaza, alongside Brian Eno, James Blake, Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry and more
-
A new coffee table book proves that one designer’s trash is another’s treasureThe Rizzoli tome, launching today (16 September 2025), delves into the philosophy and process of Retrouvius, a design studio reclaiming salvaged materials in weird and wonderful ways
-
A carbon-emission-busting house, yeast-biomass building, and more ‘Designs for a Cooler Planet’‘Designs for a Cooler Planet’ returns to Aalto University in Finland as part of the annual Helsinki design and architecture week, highlighting buildings, materials and solutions towards a better future
-
Stephen Prina borrows from pop, classical and modern music: now MoMA pays tribute to his performance work‘Stephen Prina: A Lick and a Promise’ recalls the artist, musician, and composer’s performances, and is presented throughout MoMA. Prina tells us more
-
Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in TexasThe artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San FranciscoThe artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profitsThe Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick CollectionThe actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raisingAt Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
