Thomas Wachholz was born in 1984 in Cologne, Germany, where he lives and works. His bronze sculptures, based on burnt matches, transform an everyday, short-lived object into a symbol of permanence and memory. In its original form, a match represents a moment of transition, igniting light and energy only to burn out in the same instant. The artist undertakes this fragile, momentary gesture and transfers it into bronze, a material traditionally used to symbolize eternity, memory and heroism. In doing so, he reverses the meaning of the original object; transitory becomes permanent, light becomes heavy and banal becomes worthy of art.

Wachholz’s works are at once mediation and commentary, dealing with themes of time, memory and transience, questions of consumption and devaluation. The combination of fleeting moments and durable materials creates a poetic tension reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti’s existential sculptures or Günther Uecker’s material transformations. Yet Wachholz finds his own contemporary language; his bronze matches are silent monuments to the moment, preserved sparks of energy that have long since been extinguished, yet continue to glow. Krefelder Kunstverein, Krefeld; Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles; Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen; Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn; Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf and Yves Klein Archive, Paris.

Thomas Wachholz has had solo exhibitions at numerous venues, including; Kunstverein Heppenheim; Galerie Ruttkowski;68, Cologne; THK Gallery, Cape Town; Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Lange + Pult, Zürich; Ung5, Cologne; Nymphius Projekte, Berlin and RaebervonStenglin, Zurich. He has also participated in various group exhibitions, including; Centre d’art contemporain Meymac; Eduardo Secci Contemporary, Florence; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; public collections, including; Deji Art Museum, Nanjing; Marciano Art Foundation, Works by Wachholz are held in several Los Angeles and Frost Foundation, Santa Fe.