Philippe Thomas: art history in search of characters…

Portikus shows the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in Germany since the 1990s.

Considering his extensive body of work, it is not surprising that Philippe Thomas (1951–1995) came to art by way of literature and philosophy. Influenced by the post-structuralist concepts that emerged in France during the 1960s and 1970s, the artist pursued questions that are still relevant today, such as the fluidity of identity, the deconstruction of authorship, systems of power, and the conditions under which meaning is created.