Thilo’s practice investigates the material languages and hidden structures of the urban environment. Working with imprints and fragments of urban surfaces, Reich isolates and transforms everyday elements of the built city — such as paving stones, brickwork and concrete grids — revealing the patterns, histories and cultural traces embedded within them. Often beginning with silicone moulds taken directly from urban surfaces, he transfers these textures into materials such as metal, concrete or glass. The resulting works often take the form of relief-like compositions that hover between sculpture and painting, lifting fragments of the ground into the vertical plane. Through processes including casting, cutting and polishing, Reich reconfigures these surfaces into works that shift the perception of the overlooked and reflect on time, memory and the social inscriptions embedded in the built environment.
Reich studied architecture at the Technische Universität Berlin, with study periods in Tokyo and Sharjah, and later founded his studio in Berlin in 2013. He is co-founder of the CONCEPTUAL Biennale Berlin. His work has been exhibited and received awards internationally.