Thomas Arnolds (b. Gelsenkirchen, 1975; lives and works in Cologne) makes art that probes central concerns of painting. Trained as a stonemason and church restorer, he has built a multifaceted oeuvre encompassing both monochrome works that evince recurrent color symbolisms and a series of figurative motifs including interiors, everyday articles, and architectures. A graduate of Walter Dahn’s master class, Arnolds surveys diverse subjects and visual dimensions to explore the prerequisites and possibilities of painting. Rather than aim for a strictly linear evocation and evaluation of the medium’s conditions, he charts a meandering course amid its potentials.