Thomas Ozle

Your series “Glider” is deeply influenced by the concept of ambiguity. How did reading Thomas Bauer’s essay shape your visual language?

Bauer’s essay initially influenced my conceptual approach, and the abandonment of concrete pictorial content is due to it. Through the text, I found the courage and legitimacy to turn to a purely gestural, abstract painting that creates precisely this ambiguous pictorial space.

You mention listening to shoegaze music like My Bloody Valentine during your process. How do sound and music influence the textures and rhythm of your paintings?

Listening to shoegaze bands like MY BLOODY VALENTINE and LUSH gave rise to the many painterly layers and textures in my paintings, analogous to the sonic layers in this very music. Layers that are difficult to grasp in their entirety.

Thomas Olze | Glider | 2025

In your work, you deliberately layer contrasting gestures and surfaces. Do you see this as a metaphor for contemporary social or political tensions?

I see these different layers and painterly gestures first and foremost as an ambiguous metaspace . I see art as a tool and a form of thought. Art should teach us all to accept and endure the ambiguity of our world.

I therefore don’t want to make direct political statements, as this would render the artistic work superfluous. A political or philosophical text would then be perfectly sufficient. Nevertheless, the recipient can and should read these works as metaphors.

How does your curatorial practice inform or challenge your work as a painter—and vice versa?

My curatorial practice and my own artistic work influence each other on a philosophical level. However, the development of exhibitions is much more focused on concrete themes ans issues than my own artistic work, which is more ambig.

Thomas Olze | Glider | 2025

The “Surfaces / Exploration – Transit” series explores the interplay between gesture and geometry. How do you approach balance and tension between these elements?

The balance and tension between these pictorial elements arises very organically during the painting process and is based on aesthetic considerations

Is ambiguity a political stance in your art, or more of a philosophical perspective?

Ambiguity in my art is primarily a philosophical perspective. This inevitably also leads to a political one. The widespread rejection of ambiguity, the expectation of clear answers about what is right and what is wrong, poses major problems in our societies and leads to intolerance.

Thomas Olze | OberfläChen Erkundung Transit | 2023

What role does color play in creating emotional or perceptual complexity in your paintings?

Color is very important. It creates both, depth and dynamism. My color palette, which is sometimes very bright, is intended to reflect our exuberant times, which are often very challenging and overwhelming.