Raw refinement: Blair Thurman's debut show at Peres Projects, Berlin
Berlin-based Cuban Javier Peres stages a debut show of American artist Blair Thurman at his gallery, Peres Projects.

Javier Peres is showcasing Blair Thurman’s sculpture and art in an exhibition at his Berlin gallery Peres Projects. Pictured from left: Method Artist, (Road Runner), 2015, Pencil Me In-side, 2015 and Pushin’ Up Daisies From a Pine Box, 2008 - 2015
Berlin-based Cuban Javier Peres is staging a debut show of American artist Blair Thurman at his gallery, Peres Projects. 'Thurman is an artist with an exceptional, hands-on practice – one who I have been watching grow for some years now,' he says.
Now living in New York, Thurman grew up in Boston, spending much of his time among the leading minds of new media and pop artists like Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik and Carl Andre at the city’s Institute of Contemporary Art where his mother was the director.
He started creating in the 1980s with a desire to break out of the constraints of the prevailing artistic theories. For the show, Thurman continues to mine new meanings from many continuing, serialising forms. ‘I find his treatment of materials and painterly approach simultaneously raw and refined. I became quite fascinated with the way he deals with serial forms – this 'signature content' that he incorporates gets reanimated with new colours and details, and its this continuous reproduction that creates such lasting imagery for me,’ Peres explains.
Thurman has grounded his work on his boyhood interests and memories; instinctive ideas that came to him before knowledge could get in the way of his artist consciousness; inevitably those memories reference diverse facets of Americana. New large-scale pop minimalist paintings are made for the show, Nine Gates and Gringo (FMH), further straddle the boundaries of both conventional painting and sculpture.
A group of his signature neon sculptures will also be displayed at the show which runs till 19 December.
The American artist started creating works in the 1980s with a desire to break out of the constraints of the prevailing artistic theories. Left: Method Artist, (Road Runner), 2015. Right: Pencil Me In-side, 2015
Thurman grew up in Boston, spending much of his time among the leading minds of new media and pop artists. Left: Pushin' Up Daisies From a Pine Box, 2008 - 2015. Right: Pencil Me In, 2015
Thurman has grounded his work on his boyhood interests and memories. Left: Gringo (FMH), 2015. Right: Ticonderoga (Pencil Me In), 2015
A group of his signature neon sculptures are also on display. Left: Waffle House in the Nick of Time, 2015. Right: Nine Gates, 2015
Blair Thurman is on show till 19 December. Left: Gaslight, 2015. Right: Green Party, 2015
INFORMATION
Blair Thurman is on show at Peres Project till 19 Decemer. For more information, visit the website
Photography courtesy of Peres Projects
ADDRESS
Karl-Marx-Allee 82
10243 Berlin
Germany
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Yoko Choy is the China editor at Wallpaper* magazine, where she has contributed for over a decade. Her work has also been featured in numerous Chinese and international publications. As a creative and communications consultant, Yoko has worked with renowned institutions such as Art Basel and Beijing Design Week, as well as brands such as Hermès and Assouline. With dual bases in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, Yoko is an active participant in design awards judging panels and conferences, where she shares her mission of promoting cross-cultural exchange and translating insights from both the Eastern and Western worlds into a common creative language. Yoko is currently working on several exciting projects, including a sustainable lifestyle concept and a book on Chinese contemporary design.
-
Hollywood Forever's new ‘vertical mausoleum’ is the tallest in the US
The Gower Mausoleum is not only an innovative solution for housing the deceased in a crowded urban centre; it is also reframing the way that we view cemeteries
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Teenage Engineering celebrate ten years of the Pocket Operator synth series with £49 model
TE’s cult series of pocketable synths, beat machines, sequencers and samplers celebrates its tenth decade with a new microsite and competition
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The creative mind at work: a century of storyboarding at Fondazione Prada
Fondazione Prada’s 'Osservatorio, A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings' features some of the most celebrated names in cinema working from the late 1920s up to 2024
By Mary Cleary Published
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any other
Gia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
By Billie Walker Published
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truths
At the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
By Daisy Woodward Published
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watch
Sundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
By Stefania Sarrubba Published
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok ban
Downloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dream
Brady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
By Billie Walker Published
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West
‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Intimacy, violence and the uncanny: Joanna Piotrowska in Philadelphia
Artist and photographer Joanna Piotrowska stages surreal scenes at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
By Hannah Silver Published
-
First look: Sphere’s new exterior artwork draws on a need for human connection
Wallpaper* talks to Tom Hingston about his latest large-scale project – designing for the Exosphere
By Charlotte Gunn Published