Simone Thiele

Simone Thiele

*1965, Allschwil BL, CH. Lives and works in Basel, CH.

Simone Thiele began her creative career as a 3D polydesigner in the field of three-dimensional design. Since 2010, she has dedicated herself to painting, deepening her artistic practice through a four-year course at the Visual Art School Basel (2013–2017). Her works have been showcased in numerous exhibitions, most recently in a solo exhibition at the Bludin Berisha Gallery in Hamburg. In 2024, she was also represented at the ENTER Art Fair in Copenhagen with Galerie Bludin Berisha. In 2023 and 2024, she participated in the OneHundred exhibition at the Tony Wüthrich Gallery in Basel. Thiele is interested in experimental exhibition formats and is a member of the artist group ensemble5.

Thiele’s works explore the interplay of line, surface, and color. She enjoys layering lines and surfaces, constantly renegotiating their positions in relation to one another. A seemingly dominant surface that almost entirely covers what lies beneath may ultimately prove less significant than an underlying layer that asserts a stronger presence through color, texture, or movement. This creates a dynamic dialogue between layers, forming and shifting spatial relationships within the composition.

Her works are developed in series, each beginning with a conceptual foundation. Lines or surfaces with specific qualities—such as fluid, thick, thin, dark, light, round, or angular—serve as the basis. Each subsequent layer is imbued with its own characteristics, generating a conversation about the interaction of these diverse qualities and their placement within the work.

Throughout the creative process, surfaces evolve organically from within or connect across multiple points, always in dialogue with the format and underlying structures. Essential to Thiele’s practice is the dynamic within each surface or line: where it directs the gaze, how it enters the scene, and the presence it establishes.

The questions that drive Thiele’s artistic practice can also be viewed through a philosophical lens: What does one element trigger in another? What does it demand, condition, or evoke? How can different presences coexist despite hierarchies? Are all elements of equal value, and do all actors have their place? However, Thiele emphasizes that she is not a philosophical artist at heart—her approach to art is intuitive and hands-on.