Thomias Radin
Thomias Radin was born in 1993 in Abymes, Guadeloupe. He received his BFA and MFA from the University of Rennes 2 in 2015 and 2018. The artist lives and works in Berlin.
Regardless of the medium, Radin’s practice is centered in an embodied knowledge formed by his background in dance as well as by growing up between the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe and France. For Radin, the Black subjects of his paintings, sculptures, performances, and films are carriers of memory and movement. Movement that tells a story of deep spirituality, inherited, linked to ancient knowledge, yet still evolving and alive. The emphasis on movement goes hand in hand with one on the fluidity of meaning and the presence of the intangible throughout Radin’s practice.
A universalist at heart, Radin’s work finds a common thread in the power of archetypal motifs and ancient narratives that resonates across the boundaries of their sources. In music and dance for example, he can find concrete history and also an unifying force to engage his audience. Music and dance enter formally into the painting practice with its fragmented bodies, animated lives, gestural brushstrokes, sampling, as well as through the rhythms of HipHop, Gwo Ka, and Capoeira. The syncopation of beating drums thus becomes palpable in form and execution.
Thomias Radin’s solo exhibitions include Rhizome: Time of Revelation, Kunstverein Göttingen (2024), POLYCHROME - The Myth of Karukera & Cibuqueira, Galerie Wedding, Berlin (2023), The Myth of Inner Landscapes, SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin (2019).
Amongst his group exhibitions are Society: Or Infinite Rehearsals, SAVVY Contemporary (2024), Poly: A Fluid Show, KINDL- Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2023 – 24), Embodied Spaces: The Body as Architecture, Strada Gallery, New York (2023), Les Enchantées, Frontview, Berlin (2023), The Garden, The Curators Room, Amsterdam (2023), Trangressive: Nonkonforme Zugänge zu Kunst and Stadt, Kühlhaus Berlin, Berlin (2022), Non Playable character, The Fairest, 59th Venice biennale, Venice (2022), Home Alone, ATM Gallery, New York (2020), Berlin-Lagos Mobility and Heritage, Galerie Wedding, Berlin (2018).
Selected performances include The Myth of a Trinity II, KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2023), Oversea Riddim, Deutsche Oper, Berlin (2023), What a Time to Be Alive, The Curators Room, Amsterdam (2022), Gospel of Wealth: Monumental shadow, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (2021), The Myth of a Trinity, Oyoun, Berlin (2020), The Myth of a Trinity, Temps fort, Saint Domineuc, France (2019), The Myth of a Trinity, Performing Arts Festival, K77 Studio, Berlin (2018).
Portrait: Thomias Radin. Photo © Ibra Wane