The fire of Australia as a source of Inspiration
In Australia, Girbl witnessed how bushfires open aged Banksia cones and release hidden life.
This observation became the artistic principle behind Burningpictures:
Fire as a triggering force — not as a symbol.
“Girbl’s works were forged in fire during their creation …”
Prof. Dr. phil. Eugen Maria Schulak
CURRICULUM VITAE
In the late 1990s, Thomas Girbl developed the body of work Burningpictures — an independent artistic position in which fire is not a motif, but a shaping medium.
A decisive turning point occurred during intense experiments in Vienna: the attempt to inscribe fire permanently into canvas pushed the material to its physical limits — and beyond. From this radical phase emerged the controlled technique that continues to define his practice today.
A later study period in Paris opened a new dimension in his approach to color. The pigments discovered there became a counterbalance to heat — since then, fire and color enter into a conscious dialogue.
For over 25 years, Girbl has consistently explored this connection between energy, surface, and transformation. Alongside studio work, he creates performative pieces in which the process itself — the controlled use of heat — becomes part of the artistic expression.
His works move between risk and precision, destruction and form — a continuous investigation into how energy inscribes itself into matter.
Exhibitions
GRAVITY AND LEVITY: A COSMIC DANCE
Curated by Stefania Carrozzini
Montserrat Contemporary Art Gallery, New York City
March 2 – March 28, 2026
Opening: March 5, 2026, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
The group exhibition “Gravity and Levity: A Cosmic Dance”, curated by Stefania Carrozzini, brings together international artists at the renowned Montserrat Contemporary Art Gallery in New York City.
Thomas Girbl will present a selection of his Burning Pictures. These works, which capture moments of transformation through the elemental power of fire, align with the curatorial vision that explores the tension between gravity and lightness, matter and spirit.
An artistic dialogue of cosmic contrasts – and the fire as a creative force of renewal and transience.
Selection of Exhibitions
2026
Montserrat Contemporary Art Gallery, New York City
Mymicro Gallery Mailand
2025
Exhibition atDas Kronthaler ***** Alpine Lifestyle Hotel with live performance
Experience the fascinating art of Thomas Girbl live at Das Kronthaler. The exhibition is complemented by impressive live performances in which the artist creates his unique Burningpictures in front of visitors' eyes. An experience not to be missed!
Gallery Burningpictures Künstlerstadt Gmünd, Hauptplatz 19
2024
Gallery Burningpictures Künstlerstadt Gmünd, Hauptplatz 19
Exhibition duration: May 3 to the end of October
TrendSet Fine Arts - Munich
2023
Grafenegg Castle, Lower Austria
Interior Fair, Vienna
2022
Gallery in the Artist town of Gmünd Kirchgasse 50, Gmünd
Residence Stockerau
Fire Performance at Puradies, Leogang in Salzburg
2021
Artist town Gmünd Kirchgasse 50,Gmünd
Arttrail Faaker See, Carinthia
Residence Stockerau
2020
Interior Fair, Vienna
Hiking trail of arts Leogang, Salzburg June 2nd to October 22nd
TrendSet Fine Arts - Munich
2019 - 1994
Amorc Art Forum (Baden-Baden Germany), Abbey Dürnstein (Wachau), Artspace Castle Dinzl / Cultural Departement (Villach)
Brick5 (Vienna), Artspace David MD (Vienna), Stilgallery (Vienna), Kraigher Gallery (Feistritz i. the Valley of Roses), Neue Wiener Werkstätten (Vienna), Artforum (St. Jakob i. the Valley of Roses), Alpen Adria Gallery (Klagenfurt), Exhibitonshall Wollzeile (Vienna),
Rimmer Gallery (Velden a. W.), Scholarship of the Capital Klagenfurt (Paris), Galerie Citè Internationale des Arts (Paris),
Gallery in the Castle (Finkenstein) , City Gallery (Klagenfurt), Gallery Haus Meer (Düsseldorf), Roche (Vienna), Interart Gallery (Salzburg)
Silver-Atelier Meister (Zürich) , Kennedy Gallery (Nassau, USA), Gallery tonArt (Vienna), Publication of the catalogue "Forces of the Inner Eye"
Gallery RB (Feldkirchen in Carinthia), Galerien the Klimtvilla (Vienna), Leopold Kohr Academy (Neukirchen)
Gallery Grapthion (Prag)
Cooperations, Art purchases, Live-Performances
Artspace Castle Dinzl / Cultural Departement (Villach)
Casinos Austria (Vienna)
Brick5 (Vienna)
SAP Austria GmbH (Vienna)
Neue Wiener Werkstätten (Vienna)
Art Lepa / art & events (Salzburg)
Euromed Clinic (Nürnberg)
Eventhall Schleppe (Klagenfurt)
Bamberger GmbH (Vienna)
Cultural Departement Salzburg
Cultural Departement Villach
Cultural Departement Klagenfurt
Cultural Departement Finkenstein
Cultural Departement St. Jakob i. the Valley of Roses
Cultural Departement Feistritz i. the Valley of Roses
Spa Aqua Dome (Längenfeld)
Hotel Spa Laa I Silent Spa I Villas (Laa a.d. Thaya)
Cultural Departement Laa a. d. Thaya
City Gallery Klagenfurt
Roche Austria GmbH (Vienna)
Moneypower Financial Service GmbH (Vienna)
Hasch & Partner Lawyers Company (Vienna)
Omicron Investment Management GmbH (Vienna)
Rimmer Gallery (Velden am Wörther See)
Alpen Adria Gallery (Klagenfurt)
VAMED Corporation (Vienna)
Das Kronthaler***** Alpine Lifestyle Hotel (Tirol)
Puradies****Superior-Hotel (Leogang)
Leogang Mountain Cableways Ltd (Leogang)
Group Exhibitions
Selection of Group Exhibitions
Group Exhibition in Milan Yield the Way to the Trees, GALLERY DEL A TOUR, KLAGENFURT (Carinthia), Participation on the 6th International Fine Arts Festival (Kranj Slovenia)
Art Fair Schwetzingen (Germany), IPP Exhibition (Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates)
Luxury Fair "Luxury, please" Hofburg (Vienna), „On the way to the Artist in St. Jakob in the Valley of Rosen" with publication of a catalogue
Trade Fair for Living & Design (Vienna), Gallery 3 (Klagenfurt), Roland Abhold Gallery (Basel), Dorotheum (Salzburg)
Art Fair in the Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna)
