By engaging multiple aesthetic traditions of art production and workmanship, Thomas Jeppe’s work meets an expression of desire at the intersection of cultural exchange. He explores domestic and theatrical space to investigate the notion of the exhibition as showroom, constructing enviroments where the familiar is used as a path to the strange. His sculptural and two-dimensional practice pivots around the fundamental questions of: What is work? What is pleasure? And how can one negotiate the disparity between artist and craftsman, critic and devotee?
Jeppe graduated from a BA in Cultural Studies, Curtin University, 2004; a BA in Cultural Studies (Honours), The University of Melbourne, 2005; a Graduate Certificate in Visual Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, 2009 and a Master of Visual Art, Victorian College of the Arts, 2011. Solo and joint exhibitions include Compass Trouble, Curro y Poncho, Mexico, 2014; Abstract Journalism, 032c Workshop, Berlin, 2014; Driving Fast Nowhere, Polansky Gallery, Prague, 2014; Spring Revue, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2014; Untitled, Curro y Poncho, Miami, 2013; Primavera, curated by Robert Cook, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2013; Sydney Contemporary, with Caleb Shea, Utopian Slumps, 2013; Seaside Vernacular, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2013; EP, with Max Brand, Austin, Texas, 2013; ASIATISCHE ADLERNASE, Galerie Conradi, Hamburg, 2012; Boon at the Hand of Circumstance, DB Project, Sydney, 2012; Nature of Submission, Museum of Natural Mystery, Perth, 2012; ACAPONETA 1891, Curro Y Poncho, Guadalajara, Mexico, 2012; Exercise in Sophistication, with Caleb Shea, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2011; Idiot’s Promenade, VCA Master Exhibition, Melbourne, 2011; Heinous Armani, with Gian Manik, TCB Art Inc, Melbourne, 2011; Cirrhosis By The Sea, Family Gallery, Los Angeles, 2011; The People’s Poet, with Thomas Baldischwyler, Galerie Conradi, Hamburg, 2010; Take The Edge Off, Black and Blue Gallery, Sydney, 2009; and The Height of Elegance, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2009. Selected group exhibitions include L.A. Contemporary, Curro Y Poncho, Los Angeles, 2013; NADA Art Fair, Curro Y Poncho, Miami, 2012; NADA Art Fair, Curro Y Poncho, Miami, 2011; REMIX, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 2011; Explaining Colours to the Blind, Tristian Koenig, Melbourne, 2011; INDEX, Hamburg Kunsthaus, Hamburg, 2010; Applied Phlebotinum, curated by Andrew Tetzlaff and Julian White, Upstairs at the Napier, Melbourne, 2010 and The Corridor to Success, The Composing Rooms, London, 2010.
Jeppe was recipient of the VCA Masters Nellie Castan Award in 2011. His work is held in the Art Gallery of Western Australia and Artbank collections, as well as private collections in Australia and overseas.
