--- title: "5 Reasons to See Thomas Bayrle at the SCHIRN" date: 2026-02-12 last_modified: 2026-05-07T14:53:48+02:00 generated_at: 2026-05-08T13:24:35Z url: "https://www.schirn.de/en/schirnmag/5-gruende-thomas-bayrle-in-der-schirn-zu-sehen/" description: "Spannungsvoll detailreich-ornamental: Die SCHIRN präsentiert aktuell eine große Soloschau des in Frankfurt lebenden Künstlers Thomas Bayrle. Fünf Gründe, warum sich der Besuch lohnt." image: "https://www.schirn.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Schirn_Presse_Bayrle_Helke_VII_im_Portikus_2022_c_Wolfgang_Guenzel-1436x1920.jpg" language: "en-US" --- # 5 Reasons to See Thomas Bayrle at the SCHIRN ![An artistic portrait of a person with a camera, surrounded by many similar images on a blue background.](https://www.schirn.de/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Schirn_Presse_Bayrle_Helke_VII_im_Portikus_2022_c_Wolfgang_Guenzel.jpg) Thomas Bayrle, Helke VII, 2022, Digitaldruck auf Papier, 93,2 x 66,3 cm © Thomas Bayrle, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin, Foto: Wolfgang Günzel # 5 Reasons to See Thomas Bayrle at the SCHIRN 1 min reading time Tense, richly detailed, and ornamental: until May 10, the SCHIRN is presenting a major solo exhibition by Frankfurt-based artist [Thomas Bayrle](https://www.schirn.de/en/exhibition/thomas-bayrle/). Here are five reasons why it’s well worth a visit. 1 ## A Frankfurt Legend Born in 1937 in Berlin, Thomas Bayrle’s connection to the Rhine-Main region began with his studies at the Werkkunstschule Offenbach am Main (today the Hochschule für Gestaltung, HfG). The painter, object artist, and video artist went on to become a Frankfurt legend: from 1975 to 2002, he taught as a professor at the Städelschule, shaping an entire generation of artists with his motto “Be Happy!” (“Fröhlich sein!”). More than a simple call to optimism, the phrase reflects an inner attitude – a way of looking at life with openness and lightness while standing up for one’s convictions. Bayrle gained international recognition not only through his teaching, but also through participation in international exhibitions such as the *documenta* and *The Biennale di Venezia* and solo exhibitions including one at the *Museum of Applied Arts* in Vienna. From painting and graphic art to sculpture, object art, sound installations, and video works, the SCHIRN retrospective presents more than 50 works from the past 20 years, showcasing Bayrle’s multifaceted artistic practice and his ongoing engagement with the fundamental aspects of modern society. ![](https://www.mak.at/jart/prj3/mak-resp/images/cache/e6c35ae77ffd19859f32c5b8941869c9/0x5089996340D5CEB2D84202E98F642316.jpeg) Thomas Bayrle in the MAK, 2017 © MAK/Mona Heiß, Image via [mak.at](https://www.mak.at/programm/ausstellungen/thomas_bayrle) 2 ## The Superform Up Close Since the 1960s, Thomas Bayrle has woven and interconnected countless repeated small elements into larger overall images. Through this structuring, he creates a compositional principle he calls the “Superform.” For example, rows of shoes merge into an abstracted portrait of the Pope, while countless tiny iPhones form the arm of an industrial robot. The serial principle so characteristic of the Superform – and its reproducibility – is closely linked to Bayrle’s biography. Before turning to graphic and print design, he trained as a pattern designer and weaver in a mechanized weaving mill. After working with analogue printing, collage, and photography, Bayrle became one of the first artists in Germany to work with computer-generated and animated imagery. ![Abstract graphic in soft colors featuring geometric shapes that create a dynamic composition.](https://www.schirn.de/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Schirn_Presse_Bayrle_Erholung_in_der_Idiotie_I_2022_c_Marjorie_Brunet_PLaza.jpg) Thomas Bayrle, Erholung in der Idiotie I, 2022, mixed media, pigment print on cotton, 215,3 x 123,3 cm © Thomas Bayrle, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin, Photo: Marjorie Brunet Plaza 3 ## With a Finger on the Pulse of the Times Thomas Bayrle consistently keeps a finger on the pulse of contemporary society. He observes the transformations of modern society and addresses changing structures of consumption, technology, mobility, pop culture, and religion. Christian visual traditions such as the Pietà repeatedly appear throughout Bayrle’s oeuvre, reflecting his enduring interest in religion – with its own rules, rituals, and systems of belief. In the tapestry “iPhone Pietà” (2017), the artist references Michelangelo’s 15th-century sculpture. Yet in Bayrle’s interpretation, marble is replaced by the iPhone as the fundamental element through which the classical image of the mourning Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ emerges. ![](https://artcritical.com/app/uploads/2018/07/4TH-FLOOR_VIEW-6.jpg) Installation shot of iPhone Pietà (2017). Thomas Bayrle: Playtime, June 20 to September 2, 2018 Foto: Courtesy New Museum, New York and Maris Hutchinson / EPW Studio, Image via [artcritical.com](https://artcritical.com/2018/08/02/natalie-sandstrom-on-thomas-bayrle/4th-floor_view-6/) ![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Michelangelo%27s_Piet%C3%A0%2C_St_Peter%27s_Basilica_%281498%E2%80%9399%29.jpg/500px-Michelangelo%27s_Piet%C3%A0%2C_St_Peter%27s_Basilica_%281498%E2%80%9399%29.jpg) Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498/99 Image via [wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6mische_Piet%C3%A0#/media/Datei:Michelangelo's_Piet%C3%A0,_St_Peter's_Basilica_(1498%E2%80%9399).jpg) 4 ## Between Individuality and Society Rather than offering purely moralizing criticism, Thomas Bayrle analyzes the reciprocal dependencies and processes that accompany social and technological change. In the Superform – where the artist demonstrates the tension between the small and the large – the dynamic interaction between the individual and society also becomes visible. In the [SCHIRN PAPER](https://www.schirn.de/en/abo/), assistant curator Theresa Dettinger writes: “In Bayrle’s superforms, the individual image serves as the basis of the whole. Only collectively do the individual elements form a unity \[...\] that is collective but not totalitarian, as the parts are never entirely subsumed by the whole.” ![Modern paper city made of woven strips with miniature cars on a neutral background.](https://www.schirn.de/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Schirn_Presse_Bayrle_Weberei_2010_c_Wolfgang_Guenzel.jpg) Thomas Bayrle, Weaving, 2010, pasteboard, plastic cars, 47 x 79 x 4 cm © Thomas Bayrle, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin, Photo: Wolfgang Günzel 5 ## Pop Art for Rainy Days Religious iconography and motifs from art history repeatedly serve as points of departure for Thomas Bayrle, including works by Caravaggio and Claude Monet. Yet Bayrle transforms these references through a combination of analogue and digital techniques in his signature serial style. Out of countless red lipstick tubes, for instance, emerges the portrait of contemporary fashion icon Kim Kardashian, whose composition borrows from Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (1655). The intersections of fashion, Pop Art, and conceptual art also appear in Bayrle’s colorful raincoats: in 1968, he designed a cup-grid pattern that was produced with a fashion house on transparent plastic raincoats and sold in department stores. Characteristically Bayrle, these coats exist at the intersection of consumer production and artistic critique, posing the question: When does an artistic work become a work of art? A special exhibition highlight: the colorful raincoats are back! Thanks to a collaboration with Frankfurt-based artist and designer space [LAB106](https://www.schirn.de/angebot/thomas-bayrle-x-lab106-x-schirn/), a new edition of Thomas Bayrle’s iconic wearable artworks – vibrant eye-catchers for rainy days – is now once again available to purchase for your home wardrobe. ![Transparent blue raincoat with white hat patterns, hanging on a wooden hanger.](https://www.schirn.de/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/15bf0fd6-692e-4ca5-b6bd-76f12e4594b6.jpg) ![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg/960px-1665_Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring.jpg) Jan Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, approx. 1665 Image via [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring) ![Artistic depiction of a face made of colored lines and shapes in red, black, and white.](https://www.schirn.de/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Schirn_Presse_Bayrle_Kim_Kardashian_XII_2021_c_Wolfgang_Guenzel-2.jpg) Thomas Bayrle, Kim Kardashian XII, 2021 fine art pigment print on paper, 98 x 87 cm © Thomas Bayrle, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York, Photo: Wolfgang Günzel