Thilo Westermann | Artist
Thilo Westermann in his studio, Berlin 2024 © VG Bild-Kunst
Thilo Westermann is acclaimed for his reverse glass paintings, prints, drawings, and photomontages. Regarding reverse glass painting, his process begins with a blackened glass plate, from which he carefully etches an image dot by dot. After its completion, the reverse glass painting is scanned, enlarged several times, and printed. The large-scale printed image reveals the original motif to be a multitude of dots, and each dot becomes recognizable as the result of a unique action. Consequently, the original image becomes superimposed by the individual artistic strokes used in its creation.
Similar to the way Westermann creates his reverse glass paintings from individual dots, he builds his photomontages from numerous photographic details. The process of collecting these visual building blocks often corresponds with extensive research and in-depth conversations. Back in the studio, Westermann synthesizes the close-ups and the gathered information to create a densely knitted image that reveals connections and narratives that would otherwise remain hidden.
The cultural exchange across geographic and historical boundaries is a central focus of Westermann’s work. A three-month residency in Hikkaduwa, awarded by the Thorwart-Jeska Foundation, allowed him to study Sri Lanka’s rich endemic flora and to investigate the nation’s complex, multifaceted history firsthand.
CV
2012–2013 Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore and LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore (Chinese Ink Painting and Asian Art Histories)
Since 2008 Study and work stays in the USA
2008–2009 University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe (Art Research and Media Philosophy)
2004–2008 Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen and Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Art History and Philosophy)
2001–2007 Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg (Master Class Student)
Artist residencies
2023 Artist in Residence, THORWART-JESKA-FOUNDATION, Hikkaduwa (Sri Lanka)
2020 Artist in Residence, zumikon-Kulturstiftung, Nuremberg (Germany); Artist in Residence, Baldreit, Baden-Baden (Germany)
2019 Artist in Residence, Cité internationale des arts, Paris (France)
2018 Artist in Residence, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Virginia (USA)
2017 Artist in Residence, China Academy of Art, Shanghai (China)
2015 Artist in Residence, Himalayas Art Museum, Shanghai (China)
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions (selected)
2026 Roses et pivoines. Pierre-Joseph Redouté | Thilo Westermann, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison (cat.) (upcoming)
2025 Miniatures. Thilo Westermann | Alexander Zakharov, Adelson Galleries Palm Beach, Florida
2024 Zur Kunst der Fuge. Karin Pliem | Thilo Westermann, Galerie Walker, Schloss Ebenau, Feistritz im Rosental; Nebenzimmer, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg
2022 Thilo Westermann et l'art de dessiner sous verre, Vitromusée Romont (cat.); Widerhall, Fruchthalle Kaiserslautern; Souvenirs, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg
2021 Souvenir de Baden-Baden, Stadtmuseum Baden-Baden (cat.)
2018 yìng sheng (Reaktion, Widerhall), Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg; Thilo Westermann, EIGEN + ART Lab, Berlin; Vanitas – Kunstwerk des Monats, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum Munich
2016 Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas, Galerie Tristan Lorenz Frankfurt; HIGH & SLOW. Hana Usui | Thilo Westermann, Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren (cat.)
2015 Thilo Westermann, Zhujiajiao Art Museum Shanghai; Stilblüten, Institut für moderne Kunst Nuremberg
2014 Thilo Westermann, Adelson Galleries New York
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2026 Roses et pivoines. Pierre-Joseph Redouté | Thilo Westermann, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison (cat.) (upcoming); Flowers Forever, Kunsthal Rotterdam (upcoming); Homage, Adelson Galleries Palm Beach, Florida (upcoming)
2025 Freundschaft & Verherrlichung. Kunst und Politik unter Friedrich II., Schloss Britz, Berlin (upcoming); Summer Selection in Palm Beach, Adelson Galleries Palm Beach, Florida; Miniatures. Thilo Westermann | Alexander Zakharov, Adelson Galleries Palm Beach, Florida; Gläsern. Forms of uncontrolled control, Schloss Biesdorf, Berlin; Flowers. Dal Rinascimento all'intelligenza artificiale, Chiostro del Bramante, Rome (cat.)
2024 Brillanz & Transparenz. Hinterglaskunst der Moderne bis heute, Museum Werdenfels, Garmisch-Partenkirchen; Zur Kunst der Fuge. Karin Pliem | Thilo Westermann, Galerie Walker, Schloss Ebenau, Feistritz im Rosental
2023 Who's Afraid of Stardust, Kunsthalle and Kunsthaus Nuremberg (cat.); Flowers Forever, Kunsthalle Munich (cat.)
2022 Erinnerungen an Baden-Baden, Wochenende der Graphik, Stadtmuseum Baden-Baden; In neuem Licht. Sammlung Bezirk Oberpfalz, Kebbel-Villa | Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus, Schwandorf
2020 Hinter Glas gemalt, Museum Penzberg; Do you believe in happy endings?, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg; Crystal Flora, Felix Ringel Galerie Düsseldorf; Made in China. Porcelain, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg; Studio Ost, Kunsthalle Darmstadt; peu à peu, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg
2019 Benefitausstellung 20 × 2010, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V., Berlin; Natur als Argument, Villa Dessauer Bamberg
2018 CHEERS, EIGEN + ART Lab, Berlin; Mixed Media 10 × 5, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V., Berlin; Open Studio, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, Virginia
2017 TIEFENLICHT. Malerei hinter Glas von August Macke bis Gerhard Richter, Museum Penzberg (cat.); fokus sammlung 05. STILLLEBEN, MMKK Carinthian Museum of Modern Art, Klagenfurt (cat.); Art Karlsruhe Art Fair, Karlsruhe; Künstlerbücher für Alles, Weserburg | Museum of Modern Art Bremen (cat.); Unheimlich schön – Stillleben heute, MMKK Carinthian Museum of Modern Art, Klagenfurt (cat.); Die neue Präzision III, Galerie Rainer Wehr Stuttgart
2016 Statement X, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg; HIGH & SLOW. Hana Usui | Thilo Westermann, Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren (cat.); Art Karlsruhe Art Fair, Karlsruhe
2015 Schwarz ist meine Farbe, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg
2014 Magis Autumn, Drawing Room Gallery Singapore; Was bedeutet denn für immer, Oechsner Galerie Nuremberg
Prizes and promotions
2023 Artist Travel Fellowship, THORWART-JESKA-FOUNDATION
2020 Scholarship of the zumikon-Kulturstiftung Nuremberg; Baldreit Fellowship, City of Baden-Baden
2019 Artist Travel Fellowship, Cité internationale des arts Paris, Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States
2017–2018 Scholarship of the Else-Heiliger-Fonds 2010, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. Berlin
2017 Artist Travel Fellowship, Goethe-Institut, Department of Culture and Education at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Shanghai
2015 Nürnberg Scholarship, City of Nuremberg
2013 Scholarship for Academic and Advanced Training abroad, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
2011 C/O Berlin Talents Award
2008–2010 Studio Grant, Free State of Bavaria
2007 Annual Award of Nürnberg Academy of Fine Arts
Picture gallery
Thilo Westermann etching the motif of his reverse glass painting “Leelah Alcorn” dot by dot from the blackened back surface of a sheet of glass © VG Bild-Kunst
Leelah Alcorn
2016, reverse glass painting, 30 × 21 cm – archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 210 × 147 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Scholar’s Rock (5)
2023, reverse glass painting, 29,7 × 21 cm – archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 178,2 × 126 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Tree Peonies in a Vase Decorated with a Depiction of McNeill Whistler’s “Princess from the Land of Porcelain”
2024, reverse glass painting, 30 × 21 cm – archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 180 × 126 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Petrea volubilis
2024, colored pencil on archival paper, 21 × 14,8 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Hibiscus
2024, colored pencil on archival paper, 21 × 14,8 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
“Chinese Orchid (Homage to Ma Lin)” at the Himalayas Art Museum, Zhujiajiao 2015
2015, archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 72,9 × 100 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
“Chinese Orchid (Homage to Ma Lin)” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2014
2014, archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 52,4 × 67,9 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Chinese Orchid (Homage to Ma Lin)
2014, reverse glass painting, 29,7 × 21 cm – archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 178,2 × 126 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
“Paeonia lactiflora” at den Waldorf Astoria Towers, New York 2014
2014, archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 139,7 × 96,5 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Bouquet of Roses
2012, reverse glass painting, 21 × 14,8 cm – archival print on paper, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 126 × 88,8 cm © VG Bild-Kunst
Introspection
2007, reverse glass painting, 21 × 14,8 cm – archival print, face-mounted on acrylic glass, 126 × 88,8 cm © VG Bild-Kunst