Nach einer Reihe von Katalogen zu bestimmten Werkphasen und autonomen Künstlerbüchern, erscheint jetzt die lang erwartete, erste klassische Monografie. Mit mehr als 100 Werken von den 1960iger Jahren bis heute - Malerei, Skulptur, Viedoe, Collage - , berichten die Autoren von der Entwicklung einer ungewöhnlichen künstlerischen Laufbahn, geprägt durch seine Auseinandersetzung des Künstlers mit den Auswirkungen der Technik auf Mensch und Umwelt.
Thomas Bayrle (b. 1937) has infused contemporary art with an appreciation for the sensual aspects of machines and automated production aesthetics. After training as a weaver and graphic designer in the 1950s, he became one of the first German artists to explore computer-generated imagery and was a pioneer of Pop art through serialism. His artistic evolution is showcased in early films featured in the exhibition. Bayrle uses art to investigate the principles that govern individuality and mass culture, drawing inspiration from everyday life and consumer goods. He critically examines urban growth and mass transportation, viewing them as cycles driven by economic activity that simultaneously fuel it. His awareness of his role as a consumer informs this exploration. Since the 1970s, the autobahn has been central to his work. In a new wall installation for the exhibition at Lenbachhaus, he revisits the highway theme, creating a nearly hundred-foot-long and sixteen-foot-tall sculpture that symbolizes the physical movement of people in cars. This piece also serves as a metaphor for the complex data flows of the information age, challenging human comprehension. 00Exhibition: Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, Germany (13.12.2016-05.03.2017)
