Born: Berlin, Germany, 1937
Lives and works in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Best known for his “super-forms”, large images composed of iterations of small cell-like images, Thomas Bayrle is a pioneer and forerunner of German Pop Art. Through the usage of photocopy machines and employing other mid-century tools since his early works, he foresaw our digital reality long before the appearance of current visual technologies. 

After being educated to be a textile weaver (1956-1958) Bayrle studied at the Werkkunstschule in Offenbach, Germany from 1958 until 1961. Initially, he studies with the direction of graphic design, but then turned to printmaking and the technique of lithography and etching from Eberhard Behr. In 1961, together with Bernhard Jäger, he founded Gulliver Press and worked as a publisher of artist books. His first participation at Documenta III, in Kassel was in 1964 and was followed by Documenta 6 (1977) and Documenta 13 in 2012, for which he was awarded the Arnold-Bode Price. From 1972 to 2002 Bayrle held a professorship at the State Academy of Fine Arts - Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. Throughout the year he influenced and inspired many students.

Solo Exhibitions

2019
Caravaggio our times / Caravaggio billion times, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Sant’Andrea de Scaphis, Rome, Italy

2018
Playtime, New Museum, New York, USA
Thomas Bayrle, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
fiat, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany

2017
Wenn etwas zu lang ist – mach es länger, Museum für angewandte Kunst / Gegenwartskunst, Vienna, Austria

2016
Thomas Bayrle, Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
One Day On Success Street, ICA Miami, Miami, USA
Cowboy Tapisserie Pietà , Air de Paris, Paris, France
Seniorenfeier, Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany
Complete Films 1979 - 2007, Gavin Brown´s enterprise, New York, USA
Pinsel durchgespielt, Galerie Mezzanin, Geneva, Switzerland

2015
Thomas Bayrle, dépendance, Brussels, Belgium
Kreuzweg, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
Gerani / Pavesi, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany

2014
Madonna, Gavin Brown´s Enterprise, Harlem, New York, USA
Agnus Dei, Stiftung St. Matthäus, Berlin, Germany
Thomas Bayrle – Vespini, Galerie Franscesca Pia, Zurich, Switzerland
Thomas Bayrle, Jesuitenkirche St. Peter, Cologne, Germany
Thomas Bayrle: All-in-One, Institut d´art contemporain Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, France

2013
Thomas Bayrle: Chrysler Tapete, Front Room, CAM Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, USA
Monuments of Traffic, Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Josefine meets Sunah Thomas Bayrle, Sunah Choi, Galerie Mezzanin, Vienna, Austria
Thomas Bayrle: All-in-One, Wiels, Brussels, Belgium; Madre-Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donna
Berge, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
Regina, Naples, Italy; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom
Thomas Bayrle, The Artist`s Institute, New York, USA

2012
Thomas Bayrle, From Weft to Warp – and Back Again & Helke Bayrle, Galerie Ute Parduhn, Düsseldorf, Germany
Strippenzieher, BIG BLOCK, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, USA
Thomas Bayrle, American Dream, High Line Billboard, Edison ParkFast, New York, USA
Thomas Bayrle. Berge, Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
Thomas Bayrle, Air de Paris, Paris, France

2011
Thomas Bayrle, dependance, Brussels, Belgium
Thomas Bayrle, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
Thomas BAYRLE/Daniel KOHL, La Chaufferie, Strasbourg, France

2010
Alle Kamele sind ein Kamel (Schopenhauer), Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany
Gummibaum and materials, Base Progetti per l’arte, Florence, Italy

2009
Thomas Bayrle. Rosenkranz, Galerie Mezzanin, Vienna, Austria
Produzione Bayrle, Cardi Black Box, Milan, Italy
Thomas Bayrle -Their Combination is Spectacular, Musée d’art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
Thomas Bayrle, Ann Lislegaard and Ultra-Red
Thomas Bayrle. I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore

2008
Thomas Bayrle. Looping, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Thomas Bayrle/Andreas Slominski, Dependance, Brussels, Belgium
Cats & Cars (with Gerald Domenig), Etablissement d’en face, Brussels, Belgium
Wiener, Arbeiterkammer Wien, Vienna, Austria
Stéphane Dafflon/Thomas Bayrle, Air de Paris, Paris, France
Thomas Bayrle. A Mustache is a Man’s Best Friend, Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich, Switzerland
Thomas Bayrle. Bir enstalasyon duvarkagıtları, otoyollar vs. üzerine/An Installation of Wallpapers, Motorways etc., Dirimart, Istanbul, Turkey

2007
Thomas Bayrle,, Galerie Barbara Weiss (with Monika Baer), Berlin, Germany
Thomas Bayrle, FRAC Limousin, Limoges, France
Thomas Bayrle, Office for Contemporary Art, Oslo, Norway
Thomas Bayrle, Jacke wie Hose, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria

2006
Thomas Bayrle: 40 Jahre Chinese Rock’n’Roll, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Thomas Bayrle. Happy Days Are Here Again, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, USA

2005
Thomas Bayrle, Cubitt Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2004
Thomas Bayrle: Carlos, Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany

2003
Autostrada, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany
Eiserner Vorhang/Safety Curtain., A project of museum in progress in co-operation with the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

2002
Thomas Bayrle, Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria
Thomas Bayrle, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

2001
Kartoffelzähler, Galerie Johann Widauer, Innsbruck, Austria
Thomas Bayrle. Bilder, Zeichnungen, Druckgrafik aus den Jahren 1967 bis 2001, Galerie Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Layout, CCA, Kitakyushu, Japan

2000
flying home…, Museum in Progress, Vienna, Austria
Philip Johnson, 1999 und Werke von 1967–2000, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany

1998
Galerie Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Dolly Animation, Galerie Francesca Pia, Bern, Switzerland

1997
Koriyama City Art Museum, Koriyama, Japan
Academy of Art & Design, Beijing, China
TassenTassen, Museum Moderner Kunst, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1996
Thomas Bayrle, Kunsthalle St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

1995
Galerie Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1994
Film Video Materialien, Portikus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1990
Autobahnkopf, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany
Autobahnkopf, Portikus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1989
Pinsel durchgespielt, Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Thomas Bayrle 1983–88, Seed Hall, Tokyo, Japan

1988
Madonna Jaguar, Kunsthalle Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

1987
Thomas Bayrle 1967 und 1987, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1986
GOLF, Auto Museum, Wolfsburg, Germany

1984
Capsel, Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany

1983
Druckgrafik 1960–83, Städtische Galerie, Wolfsburg, Germany

1980
Rasterfahndung, Goethe-Institut, San Francisco, USA
Graphic Gathering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA

1977
Cities and Accumulations, WAKO, Tokyo, Japan

1972
Formation Serielle, La Pochade, Paris, France
Kiko Galleries, Houston, USA

1965
Galerie Buchholz, Munich, Germany

1964
Städtisches Museum, Göttingen, Germany

1963
DRUCK, Galerie Bergsträsser, Darmstadt, Germany

Group Exhibitions

2018
As We May Think: Feedforward, 6th Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou, China
Flansch, Marburger Kunstverein, Marburg, Germany

2017
A Tale of Two Worlds. Experimentelle Kunst Lateinamerikas der 1940er- bis 80er-Jahre im Dialog mit der Sammlung des MMK, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Infected Foot, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York, USA

2016
La Promenade, une balade dans le depôt long du Cnap, Mrac Languedoc-Roussillon, Sérignan, France
Le Grand Balcon, La Biennal de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
Drôles de Trames!, Le Fresnoy, Tourcoing, France
Spring Awakening, Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich, Swiss
The Promise of Total Automation, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern. London, UK
The Promise of Total Automation, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria

2015
Anatomie de l'Automate, La Panacée, Montepellier, France
Works to Know by Heart: An Imagined Museum, Works from the Centre
Pompidou, Tate and MMK collections, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom
The Great Mother, Trussardi Foundation, Milan, Italy
Individual Stories. Collecting as Portrait and Methodology, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Group Show, Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich, Swiss
International Pop, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA
1989, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany

2014
Arche Noah - Über Tier und Mensch in der Kunst, Museum Ostwall im Dortmunder U, Dortmund, Germany
GERMAN POP, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
Hier steht ein Sessel – Sessel, Stuhl, Hocker in der Kunst, Galerie im Traklhaus, Salzburg, Austria
Was Modelle können, Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, Siegen, Germany
Das Optische Unbewusste, Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland
In These Great Times, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway

2013
X-Mas show, Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich, Swiss
Das Muster, das verbindet, Kunsthalle Lingen, Lingen, Germany
Xerography, Firstsite, Colchester, United Kingdom
Textiles: Open Letter, Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany
The Universal Addressability Of Dumb Things, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Vertical Club, Bortolami Gallery, New York, USA
Body of Evidence, VI, VII, Oslo, Norway
Nouvelles impressions de Raymond Roussel, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
The Society Without Qualities, Tensta Konsthall , Stockholm, Sweden

2012
Ein Wunsch bleibt immer übrig, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
FIAC, Paris, France
Busan Biennale 2012 – ’Garden of Learning’, Busan Museum of Art, Korea
Parque Industrial, Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, Brasil
Air de Paris Summer Show, Art and Rapy, Monaco
Bikes and more, Galerie Martina Detterer, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Leben mit Pop! Grafik der 60er Jahre von Warhol bis Richter, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany
Face to Face, Galerie Ute Parduhn, Düsseldorf, Germany
Towards a warm math, On Stellar Rays, New York, USA
Objekt Atlas, Feldforschung im Museum, Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
documenta (13), Kassel, Germany
Himmel und Erde, Galerie Ute Parduhn, Düsseldorf, Germany
ende gut alles gut, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt, Germany
Kunst-Stoff. Textilien in der Kunst seit 1960, Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
Ändere dich, Situation, Stadtgalerie Schwaz, Schwaz, Austria
Thomas Bayrle kuratiert (ungern) Schrippenkönig mit p?, Galerie Mezzanin, Vienna, Austria
Art Basel Miami Beach, Galerie Mezzanin, Miami, USA
Thomas Bayrle, Frieze Projects, London, United Kingdom

2011
Der geteilte Himmel. 1945–1968. Die Sammlung, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Thomas Bayrle, Alfons Dick, Rolf Glasmeier, Manfred Kuttner, Charlotte Posenenske, Galerie Johann König, Berlin, Germany
Kistefos Museet, Oslo, Norway
Echoes, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France

2010
Covering the wall. Contemporary wallpaper, mudac and Musée de Pully, Lausanne, Switzerland
Gesehen & Geliebt Nr. 5, Es geht um Zeit. Aus Kasper Königs privaten Besitz, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Milk Drop Coronet, Camera Austria, Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria
Gwangju Biennale 2010, Gwangju, South Korea
Art on Speed, The Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Kansas, USA
Larger than Life – Stranger than Fiction, 11. Triennale Kleinplastik 2010, Fellbach, Germany
Unto this Last, Raven Row, London, United Kingdom
Dirimart presents III, Dirimart, Istanbul, Turkey

2009
Athens Biennial, Athens, Greece
ganz kleines Kino, Galerie Ute Parduhn, Düsseldorf, Germany
Making Worlds, La Biennale di Venezia, 53rd International Art Exhibition, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
La Recherche, Liam Gillick, Trisha Donnelly, Leonor Antunes, Thomas Bayrle, Philippe Parreno, Air de Paris, Paris, France
Heidi au pays de Martin Kippenberger, FRAC Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France
Grandfather Clock, Thomas Bayrle/Will Benedict/Andrei Kochschmieder, Neue Alte Brücke, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Notation. Kalkül und Form in den Künsten, ZKM Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
1968. Die große Unschuld, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Tracer. Thomas Bayrle, Martin Feldbauer, Daniel Kohl, Harald Pridgar, After the Butcher, Berlin, Germany

2008
Konstellationen IV. Material/Form/Mensch/Stadt, Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
What Ever Happened to Sex in Scandinavia, Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo, Norway
Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Experiment Marathon Reykjavík (Reykjavik Arts Festival 2008), Listasafn Reykjavíkur Hafnarhús, Reykjavik, Iceland
Stéphane Dafflon/Thomas Bayrle, Air de Paris, Paris, France
God and Goods, Villa Manin Centro d’arte contemporanea, Codroipo, Italy
Tempo, Tempo! Das Phänomen der Geschwindigkeit im Film, Opelvillen, Rüsselsheim, Germany
Europop, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

2007
Tbilisi 4: Everyday is Saturday, Tbilisi, Georgia
The Kitakyushu Biennial ’07, Moji-Ko Kitakyushu, Japan
Body Politicx, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Small Is Beautiful, Ursula Bickle Stiftung, Kraichtal-Unteröwisheim, Germany
Imagery Play, PKM Gallery, Beijing, China
Das Kapita l- Blue Chips und Masterpieces, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
What does the jellyfish want?, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Lyon Biennial, Lyon, France
Stéphane Dafflon/Thomas Bayrle, Air de Paris, Paris, France
Whenever It Starts It Is the Right Time, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Brussel Biennial, Brussels, Belgium
Thomas Bayrle, screening of Sunbeam, Superstars, Autobahn-Kopf, Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo, Norway
Screening of Sunbeam, Autobahnkopf, Select: A Night with Rosalind Nashashibi, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

2006
Piktogramme – die Einsamkeit der Zeichen, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Choosing My Religion, Kunstmuseum Thun, Thun, Switzerland
Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
The Expanded Eye, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
totalstadt. beijing case, ZKM, Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe, Germany
Summer of Love – Art of the Psychedelic Era, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
4th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art: Von Mäusen und Menschen/Of Mice and Men, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
Dark Places, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, USA

2005
Guangzhou Triennale, Guangzhou, China
Beijing Case, Zero Field Experimental Art Center, Beijing, China
Summer of Love – Art of the Psychedelic Era, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Automobilisé, Galerie Ilka Bree, Bordeaux, France
Zur Vorstellung des Terrors: Die RAF. Ausstellung, Kunst-Werke, Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
50 Jahre/Years documenta 1955–2005, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany

2004
Berlin-Moskau/Moskau-Berlin 1950–2000, Staatliche Tretjakow-Galerie, Moscow, Russia
9. Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach, Alte Kelter, Fellbach, Germany
Pop Cars. Amerika-Europa, Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
Deutschland sucht, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany
Grey Goo, Flaca, London, United Kingdom
Cupcup and the happy Medium, Dowse-Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
Utopia Station, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany

2003
Greenfort, Zybach, Galerie Francesca Pai, Bern, Switzerland
Nation, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
50. Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
Berlin-Moskau/Moskau-Berlin 1950–2000, Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
Klosterfelde Invite #8, Klosterfelde, Berlin, Germany

2002
Europaweit – Kunst der 60er Jahre, Städtische Galerie, Karlsruhe, Germany

2001
Frankfurter Kreuz. Transformationen des Alltäglichen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
DC: Thomas Bayrle/Bodys Isek Kingelez, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

2000
Floating Cities. Die europäische Stadt in Bewegung, conference (06-22 – 06-25-2000) Guardini Stiftung e.V. in the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
out of space, Schnitt Ausstellungsraum zu Gast im Kölnischen Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany

1999
Serien/Konzepte in Foto/Video, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

1998
Technoculture FRI ART, Centre Contemporaine, Fribourg, Switzerland
Life Style, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria
Anticipation, Centre pour l’image Contemporaine, Geneva, Switzerland
Massornament, Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark
… mit Studenten, Shift, Berlin, Germany
Die Macht des Alters, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Kronprinzenpalais, Berlin, Germany

1997
Urban Space, de Singel, Antwerp, Belgium
KünstlerInnen, Museum in Progress, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria

1996
Grafik, Galerie Klosterfelde, Berlin, Germany
L’Art de Plastique, Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris, France

1995
Elastic Lights, , Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, USA
Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria

1993
Neue Kunst in Hamburg, Kunstverein Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria
Compkuenstlerg, Künstlerwerkstatt Lothringer Straße, Munich, Germany

1989
On Kawara – Wieder und Wieder, Portikus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria

1985
IBA, Berlin, Germany, Milan, Italy
Deutsche Graphiker, Gummersons, Stockholm, Sweden

1984
von hier aus, Gesellschaft für aktuelle Kunst, Düsseldorf, Germany
Orwell, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria

1983
Utopian Visions in Modern Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, USA

1977
documenta 6, Kassel, Germany

1975
Der Einzelne und die Masse, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen, Germany

1971
Graphik der Welt, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
Contemporary Graphic, Oxford Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Kunst und Politik, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1970
Konzepte einer neuen Kunst, Göttinger Kunstverein, Göttingen, Germany
Sammlung Feelisch, Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany
Kunst und Politik, Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany

1969
Industrie und Technik in der deutschen Malerei, Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg, Germany

1968
British International Print Biennale, Bradford, United Kingdom
Kunst-Stoffe, Art Intermedia, Cologne, Germany

1967
Serielle Formationen, Studio Galerie, Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

1966
EXTRA, Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany

1965
Between poetry and painting, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, United Kingdom

1964
documenta 3, Kassel, Germany

1963
Schrift und Bild, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany, and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands