Thomas Demand, exhibition Rooms That Dream of Yesterday at MAK Vienna

Thomas Demand connects theatre scenography and model-based photography in the exhibition Rooms That Dream of Yesterday at the MAK in Vienna, anchoring his 2026 museum presence alongside new projects in Buenos Aires and New York.

From the AD HOC NEWS Art Desk » Exhibition & Show Desk - The editors cover exhibitions, auctions, collections, prizes and artistic positions. Published: August 31, 2026 · Last checked: August 31, 2026, 11:13 AM

Thomas Demand stages his 2026 museum presence in Vienna with the exhibition THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday at the MAK. As the MAK Contemporary program and the artist’s own 'Now' page confirm, the show runs from May 27, 2026 to January 24, 2027 and builds a bridge between theatre archives and photographic practice.

Rooms That Dream of Yesterday at the MAK

At the MAK in Vienna, THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday forms part of the MAK Contemporary program and presents newly produced works that draw directly on historical scenographic models from theatre and opera. The exhibition extends across the museum’s spaces with large-format photographs and installations that translate stage architecture into Demand’s characteristic model-based images.

For the MAK project, Demand works with archival material from the Theatermuseum in Vienna and the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, reinterpreting backdrops and set models from the Baroque period to the early twentieth century. The press material highlights works such as Tell XXI, Tannhäuser IX, Reggia d’Apollo XI and the group Flick & Flock, all produced in 2026 and shown in exhibition views that underline the connection between photographic prints and the museum’s permanent collection displays.

The exhibition & show focus in 2026

The MAK exhibition anchors Thomas Demand’s 2026 institutional visibility alongside his traveling retrospective The Stutter of History at Fundación Proa in Buenos Aires, which his own site lists for August 22, 2026 to November 29, 2026. On the same 'Now' page, Demand notes the project

Across these exhibitions, a consistent curatorial frame emerges: Demand examines how model thinking shapes visual culture, whether in political history, media imagery or theatre scenography. In Vienna, the MAK’s descriptions emphasize that the artist fuses the visual power of theatre and opera with his photographic methods, allowing museum visitors to encounter stage spaces as reconstructed images rather than functioning sets.

The work core around theatre and models

Thomas Demand is known for constructing life-size paper and cardboard models of existing spaces, photographing them and then destroying the models, leaving only the image behind. In Rooms That Dream of Yesterday, this method is applied to theatre sets, with works like Die Räuber II, Méphistofele XIII and Reggia d’Apollo XIII connecting opera narratives to the material logic of models.

The MAK exhibition views published in the press material show these photographs installed alongside elements from the museum’s permanent collection, such as Baroque and Rococo objects. A work titled Fundusmodell is placed in the MAK Permanent Collection Baroque Rococo Classicism, visually linking Demand’s reconstruction of a stage model to historical design and architecture.

Where the artist stands now

In 2026, Thomas Demand’s museum and institutional presence is defined by the long-running exhibition THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday at the MAK in Vienna, on view from May 27, 2026 to January 24, 2027 within the MAK Contemporary program.

Key facts on Thomas Demand

• Artist: Thomas Demand
• Medium / Genre: Photography (model-based) / installation
• Born: 1964, Munich, Germany
• Place(s) of practice: Studio in Berlin
• Active since: Late 1980s, with institutional recognition from the mid-1990s
• Key work groups: Model-based reconstructions of political spaces, Paper architecture series, The Stutter of History, Rooms That Dream of Yesterday
• Current/last exhibition: THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, May 27, 2026 – January 24, 2027
• Major collections: Tate (London), MoMA (New York), Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (Paris), Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart (Berlin)
• Awards: Thomas Demand has received several distinctions, including the 2011 Goslar Kaiserring and the 2012 Sprengel Museum Kurt Schwitters Prize, marking curatorial recognition of his photographic practice.
• Next date: May 27, 2026 – January 24, 2027, THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna

Frequently asked questions about Thomas Demand

Where is Thomas Demand currently on view in a museum exhibition?
In 2026, Thomas Demand is on view at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna with THOMAS DEMAND. Rooms That Dream of Yesterday, which runs from May 27, 2026 to January 24, 2027 within the MAK Contemporary program.

What is the focus of the exhibition Rooms That Dream of Yesterday in Vienna?
The MAK exhibition centers on Demand’s engagement with historical theatre and opera scenography, translating archival set models from institutions in Vienna and Monaco into new photographic works that explore how model thinking shapes collective memory.

How does Rooms That Dream of Yesterday relate to Thomas Demand’s wider 2026 program?
Alongside Rooms That Dream of Yesterday in Vienna, Demand’s site lists the retrospective The Stutter of History at Fundación Proa in Buenos Aires and further projects such as in Vienna, indicating a year focused on institutional exhibitions and model-based narratives.

This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.