„I find the motifs everywhere in the world,“ says Roman Thomas. „I wait for the moment when places seem to be removed from reality due to their architecture, location, context or lighting moods and become my inner places.“ In his photographs, now on view at the KWS Art Lounge Newcomer, the urban space in relation to the human individual plays a central role. „My photographs are like windows into another reality,“ he says. In addition to the large formats, the exhibition also features the series "Cold Stone," created on the coast of Norway, and three sets from the "4 Series," a kind of photographic diary of spontaneous snapshots.
Roman Thomas doesn’t aim to create completely new „spaces“ in his images, but to interact with the space that surrounds all of us every day. „My favourite places are full of people most of the time and an integral part of urban life,“ the photographer reports about his method. „But due to the way I see and photograph a certain place, they function like a kind of backdrop, have a distant air, appear as a hidden place in our soul.“
Roman Thomas has his large formats printed exclusively on matte photo paper and presents them in a frame without glass - in Einbeck, Hahnemühle paper was used. By removing the distance between the image and the viewer, he creates an incredible depth and something that reminds us of a painting in his photographs, says the artist. Combined with the large formats, this has a particular attraction for the viewer.
In the back room of the Art Lounge, a picture can be seen that was not taken in London, New York or Paris like the other motifs. Roman Thomas photographed it in the LEO II greenhouse on the KWS premises during a shoot for the Research and Breeding divisions. "But it became another picture in the 'Hidden Places' series – a place I dreamed of and finally found in a greenhouse. It is one of my inner places," says Roman Thomas. KWS Executive Board member Dr. Peter Hofmann, who welcomed the visitors to the KWS Art Lounge, said that he was particularly pleased to open this exhibition. Roman Thomas is already a long-time KWS associate and has, among other things, realized an art project in KWS' new Berlin office. "Since most of the people who work for KWS in Berlin have little contact with our products, we came up with the idea of bringing agriculture to life as an art project at the location," Hofmann said. "Roman Thomas took on this task with a great deal of meticulousness and implemented it very well artistically with the exhibition 'Agriculture's creative path to Berlin!' while also creating a didactic benefit." With the show "Hidden Places" in Einbeck, Roman Thomas has now realized his own photographic style, Hofmann said.
At the opening, art historian Alexander Leinemann (Göttingen) invited viewers to train their vision and stimulate their thinking: "We have to see the images in their material size." Photographer Roman Thomas captures the extraordinary with his works, which is totally lost in everyday life. "Big pictures are just great," Leinemann said, "big pictures are incredibly fun to look at because they invite us to look a lot and offer us a lot to see." The photographs are "the art-focused photographic view of an artist who has understood how to be in a place and how to unveil it," the art historian said. In the images, the photographing artist not only provides information, he said, but also channels an emotion.
Roman Thomas, born in Celle in 1975, has been living and working in his hometown as a freelance photographer since 1999. The focus of his work is industry and architecture. He has been very successful in this and has received prizes such as the Design Award from the German Design Council in 2011. Since 2010, he has been pursuing his artistic activities with various group and solo exhibitions. He has received numerous awards and is active as a member of the Federal Association of Visual Artists (BBK) Celle. Most recently, the summer exhibition of the BBK in Celle Castle was held here in 2020 under the title "Klimatisiert" (Air-conditioned).
The exhibition will be accompanied by a brochure documenting the artworks in the rooms of the KWS Art Lounge NEWCOMER. Roman Thomas will be on site several more times in the exhibition, the dates will be announced in time. NEWCOMER is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Current Corona rules apply.
