text: Thomas Scheibitz, About 90 Elements, 2007, Oil on canvas, 182 x 365 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Monika Sprüth & Philomene Magers, Cologne, Munich, London; Produzentengalerie, Hamburg; VG Bildkunst, Bonn.
  LONDON.-Camden Arts Centre presents a new exhibition by Thomas Scheibitz including paintings, sculptures and large works on paper. German artist Scheibitz received international acclaim at the Venice Biennale in 2005. Using geometric shapes and symbols taken from personal memory and the media, he creates a vision of a future fast-paced consumer society. The exhibition will be on view through April 20, 2008.
  Exploring the boundary between figurative representation and abstraction, Scheibitz builds up compositions from a kaleidoscope of visual references. Described as a cultural scavenger, he collects images from both high and low culture: Renaissance paintings; contemporary cartoons; advertising; film stills, as well as images of architecture and graphic design.
  "...he is an artist happy to admit that, despite a quite traditional art education, he is inclined to scrutinize the latest Coca-Cola advertising with the same degree of forensic attention to form he would bring to bear on a work by Michelangelo." Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith, September 2007
  Scheibitz's sculptures have been compared to 3D canvases, he transforms the paintings' geometric planes into life-size objects. The positioning of works in the exhibition highlights the influence that both forms have on each other. He combines flat areas of colour and expressive brush strokes, playfully leaving traces of his hand clearly visible on the surface.
  The title of the exhibition about 90 elements / TOD IM DSCHUNGEL can be read in two parts, 90 elements is the name of a painting in the exhibition as well as referring to the 19th-century periodic table. The second part TOD IM DSCHUNGEL means 'death in the jungle' in English relating to both the urban and wild jungle. This is also the title of a publication produced by Scheibitz to coincide with the exhibition.
  An edition by the artist will be on sale in the Camden Arts Centre Bookshop. The exhibition has been organised by Camden Arts Centre, London and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin.
  Thomas Scheibitz was born in Radeberg, Germany in 1968, he lives and works in Berlin. He studied at Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Dresden. Scheibitz had his first internationally recognised solo show Low Sweetie in 1999 at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Produzentengalerie Hamburg, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Gallerie Sprüth Magers, Cologne. He represented Germany as part of the 51st Venice Biennale and was included in the Bienal de Sao Paulo in 2005. Recent international group exhibitions include The Artist's Dining Room, Tate Modern, London (2007); The Addition, curated by Anna-Catharina Gebbers, Gagosian Gallery, Berlin (2005)' Drawing from the Modern 1975-2005, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; An Aside, Camden Arts Centre, London (2005). In 2003 Scheibitz established the publishing company Diamondpaper together with Karsten Heller. Diamondpaper's objective is to present a variety of artistic ideas in a large format edition brochure.