THOMAS DEMAND | Büro (Office)

mural-sized chromogenic print, Diasec-mounted, signed, dated, and editioned '4/5' in ink on the reverse, 1995

Max Protech Gallery, New York Private collection, New York

Acquired from the above

Roxana Marcoci, Thomas Demand (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2005) p. 51 Thomas Demand und die Nationalgalerie: A Conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist (Cologne, 2010), p. 14, illustrated in black and white

This vibrant chromogenic print is in generally very good condition. The colors remain saturated, with no apparent fading. When examined very closely in raking light, the following are visible on the Diasec surface: a tiny, barely discernible, scratch at the center left; and a few fingerprints and inconsequential dust. Along the lower right corner, there is a faint tideline that measures approximately 8-inches in length. This work has previously been examined by a photographs conservator for superficial surface cleaning. For further information, please contact the Photographs department at 212-894-1149.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Thomas Demand’s important and physically imposing 1995 photograph Büro depicts, at first glance, an empty, messy office. It is in fact a photograph of a masterfully constructed, life-size cardboard set made by Demand. The source photograph for this model was published in 1990 in Spiegel, the West German weekly. It showed the Berlin headquarters of the Stasi (the East-German secret police) after it was ransacked by protesters in search of their personal files after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  In his replica of the Spiegel photograph, Demand removed all textual clues and other details that might help the viewer place the scene: the papers are blank, the files unlabeled, the walls are bare, and there is no view from the windows. Demand’s eradication of all contextual evidence is clever commentary on the censorship enforced by authoritarian regimes (cf. Roxana Marcoci, Thomas Demand, p. 14).

Many of the most well-known works from Demand’s long career provide incisive visual commentary on the darkest periods of German history. The photographs from this body of work, including Büro, are some of his most iconic from the 1990’s.