Thomas Hornemann was born in 1943 in Hamburg. After an apprenticeship he studied from 1962 to 1968 at the School of Applied Arts in Basel (Switzerland). From 1969 to 1974 he was a freelance artist in Cologne, where he co-founded Galerie EXIT. In 1975 he moved to West Berlin, where he was a member of the Galerie am Moritzplatz in 1980–81. In 1987 and 1992 he was awarded scholarships of the senator for cultural affairs in Berlin. From 1999 to 2001 he taught at the University of Arts in Berlin. Hornemann lives and works in Berlin.