Thomas Zummer is known for his precise and delicate images, often coupled with wildly conceptual schemes that address a broad range of topics—philosophical, political, technical, social, and aesthetic. Using diverse media: drawing, painting, sculptural, textual, or digital, his work is ironic, erudite, and at times hilarious. His previous show at the gallery consisted of a series of studies for portraits of actual robots drawn with graphite and carbon on paper.

This exhibition focuses on Thomas Zummer’s architectural interventions, drawings and models which also have a philosophical sensibility. Although he is not an architect, Zummer has won a number of architectural prizes and competitions, including placing in the 1996 ACA/CODA Architecural Design Competition which was held for the City of Atlanta when they hosted the Olympics. Some of his architectural works are whimsical notions, amusing and impossible, while others are completely realizable. Included in this exhibit are a proposal for the use of Manhattan as a white-water resort, the UN building rotating at 16/33/45 and 78rpm, a design for a negative fountain, and a series of drawings from Zummer’s project on redesigning satellites. Other works, tentatively classified as ‘philosophical works’ include a piece done with Jacques Derrida, and selections from a series of drawings exploring the definition of the monument.

This is Thomas Zummer’s fourth solo show at the gallery. Recent exhibitions of his works have taken place at the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerpen, San José Museum of Art, San José, CA., Susquehanna Art Museum, Cleveland Institute for the Arts, Netwerkgalerij, Aalst, Fundacio Antoni Tapies, Barcelona, Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, the Beursschouwberg, Brussels, De Balie, Amsterdam and in group shows in Brooklyn, Ghent, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Paris. In 2008, he was the keynote speaker for the Artefacts Festival in Leuven, Belgium, and a guest speaker at the Cimatics Festival in Brussels. Recent publications include essays in periodicals (Cabinet, Leonardo), books (Vertov fron Z to A, Peggy Ahwesh & Keith Sanborn, eds. Editiones la Calavera, New York; The Cinematic Experience, Boris DeBackere & Arie Altena, eds., Sonic Acts XII/Sonic Acts Press, Amsterdam; The Book of Imaginary Media, Eric Kluitenberg, ed., debalie/Nai Publishers, Amsterdam; Projectie: technologie als metafoor, Edwin Carels, Dieter Roelstraete, et al, eds., Nai Uitgevers/IFFR/MuKHA, Antwerp; and in various catalogues.

Thomas Zummer is a Regular Visiting Professor in the Transmedia programme/Post-graduate at Sint-Lukas/Brussels and the University of Leuven, and Visiting Professor in the Transart Institute, Linz, Austria. Thomas Zummer lives and works in Brooklyn.

Also presenting:

In the Viewing Room, an ongoing flatfile project: “Echo, Implant, Imprint, Reverb”, curated by Stephen Maine featuring works by Edwin J. Gunn, Ron Janowich, Marthe Keller, Joyce Kim