We are proud to present Jochen Mühlenbrink’s (DE) first solo exhibition MWP - The Mirrored Window Paintings in the gallery. The exhibition showcases Mühlenbrink’s earlier series of Window Paintings together with new and more conceptual mappings of objects on mirrors.
Entering Jochen Mühlenbrink’s exhibition is in many ways like embarking on a long train ride. The movement through the landscape is captured in simple and frozen moments that are concentrated in either fleeting landscapes and faces seen behind windows wet with dew or in more abstract compositions of spray paint and tape, which in this context can give associations to the concrete walls of tunnels or to stray and swirling objects on the platform. Consistent with Mühlenbrink’s works is the mapping and the processing of the subtle human traces and the “things” we leave behind - and especially their communicative potential. Mühlenbrink grabs what others have left behind (an “ok” written in a fogged window or an attempted repaired mirror) and transforms these concrete and recognizable barns into flowing compositions and contemplative spaces, where the “traces” act as openings for conversation and reflection.
Mühlenbrink’s works can be seen as the friendship formed between the viewer and the images, and one can argue that the real motif should not be found in the houses, in the faces or in the tape, but rather somewhere on the surface between the viewer and the object - on the pane itself or in the mirror, from where the viewer is held in transit between the artwork and something more. It may seem almost banal, but every single time a mirror appears somewhere in art history, it is written about over and over again. But why? The simple answer is probably that it physically reflects something in us, makes us aware of our own perception and our very concrete presence in the room. The mirror has a unique ability to reflect the “invisible” or distort the “visible” and opens up readings in which it becomes possible to see ourselves concretely in art.
Mühlenbrink’s impressive work with the Trompe l’oeil technique seems like an everlasting magic trick, and the transition from raw material to final work seems almost mythical. However, Mühlenbrink’s use of the technique differs from the historical one, as he not only creates two-dimensional illusions, but manages to make the deception material (here the tape is not just tape, but strokes that move out from the surface and crawl under the skin of the viewer). Mühlenbrink’s works lie on the edge between the banal, the technically superior and the strictly conceptual, and the exhibition highlights how Jochen Mühlenbrink has an impressively multifaceted approach to painting and to the world of things that we live in.
Jochen Mühlenbrink
CV
JOCHEN M¨UHLENBRINK
Born 1980, Freiburg, Germany.
EDUCATION:2001-2007 Düsseldorf Art Academy, Germany
Upcoming exhibitions and projects:
J’M donc je suis (solo), Museum Bensheim, Germany
J’M Admski (solo), Gerhard Hofland, Nertherlands
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2023
LAN WP, isart gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
MWP, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark
2022
J’M donc je suis, Galerie Thomas Fuchs, Stuttgart, Germany
J’M LA WP, Long Story Short, Los Angeles, USA
WTP, ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
Window Fainting, Cuturi Gallery, Singapore
2021
Pola V. Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Jochen Mühlenbrink. Kunstmuseum Solingen, Germany
Review. davidbehning galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany Dawn.
ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
2019
FOG. Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Falz. Malerei. Stadtmuseum Oldenburg, Germany Falz. Painting. De Groen Fine Art Collection, Arnhem, NetherlandsFalz III. ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
2017
Afterimage. ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
2016
Vertuschen. Gmünder Kunstverein, Swabian Gmuend, Germany
2015
CLP Rapid. KunstHalle Cloppenburg, Germany
2014
Stroke Hold. ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
Asche. Gerhard Hofland Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013
FRAGIL. Morat-Institut, Freiburg, Germany
FRAGIL. Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Pola Void. Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2012
66.Internationaler Bergischer Kunstpreis. With Leunora Salihu, NATIONAL-Bank, Wuppertal, Germany
2011
ROHSTOFF. Hofland & Aschenbach Galleries, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2010
Awarded by Kulturstiftung der Öffentlichen Versicherungen Oldenburg, Germany
Mal Heur. FRISCH collection, Halle am Wasser, Berlin, Germany
2009
Rücksicht. Kunstverein Heppenheim, Germany
Stauraum. Tatjana Pieters Gallery, Gent, Belgium
2008
Perspectives of contemporary painting. German Federal Bank, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Stilleben. Tatjana Pieters Gallery, Gent, Belgium
Asphalt. Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf, GermanyPerspektiven Heutiger Malerei. Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
2007
Tollwut. OneTwenty Gallery, Gent , Belgium
J-pics vs. mpegs. With Martin Denker, Torch Gallery,Amsterdam, Netherlands
2006
Sachliche Romanze. OneTwentyGallery Gent, Belgium
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2022
Null Protocol, Gallery Func, Shanghai, China
MANSCAPING, The Hole, NYC/Los Angeles, USA
Schmunzeln - von heiter bis absurd. Städtische Galerie Fruchthalle, Rastatt, Germany, curated by Sebastian Schmitt
DIE GROSSE Kunstausstellung NRW, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
Flowers, Galerie Thomas Fuchs, Stuttgart, Germany
2021
Aus jedem Dorf ein Hund. THALER Originalgrafik, Leipzig, Germany
About the Shadow. Curated by Burkhard Brunn. Thomas Rehbein, Cologne, Germany
Im Frage. Collectie Delissen. Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, Netherlands
2gether. With Gioele Amaro at Gether Contempoary, Copenhagen, Denmark
2020
Untitled Reality. davidbehning galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
Open until full. ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
Im Frage. Collectie Delissen. Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, Netherlands
2019
Setup 04. De Groen Fine Art Collection, Arnhem, Netherlands
ASPN STS Wuppertal, hosted by Groelle Pass Projects, Wuppertal, Germany
Yes we ´re open. Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Palmenbingo. ASPN, Leipzig, Germany
1001 Bild, Vol. II. Villa de Bank, Enschede, Netherlands
Konvolution – Künstler Buch Projekte. Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany
2017
Het Mysterie van de Waarheid. Arti et Amcitiae, Amsterdam, Netherlands
TROY. Galerie Evelyn Drewes, Hamburg, Germany
Trunk. Kunstverein Lüneburg, Germany
2016
Wahrheiten. Werke aus der Sammlung SØR/Rusche. Kunstverein Münsterland, Germany2015
Gute Kunst? Wollen! Werke aus der Sammlung SØR/Rusche. Auf AEG, Nürnberg, Germany
2014
painting. about, around & within. Curated by Daniele Capra. Galleria UPP, Venice, Italy
Behind images. Curated by Hans van der Ham, Garage Rotterdam, Netherlands
2013
Schöne Landschaft – Bedrohte Natur. Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche, Osnabrück, Germany
2012
Droste Effect. Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, Netherlands
Jack Helgesen Collection. Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway
66. Internationaler Bergischer Kunstpreis. Kunstmuseum Solingen, Germany
2011
Carte blanche. Kunstverein Mittelbaden and Städtische Galerie Offenburg, Germany
Nordwestkunst 2011 – Die Nominierten. Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Verbrechen und Bild. Städtische Galerie Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
2010
Van Bommel van Dam Prijs. Museum Van Bommel van Dam, Venlo, Netherlands
2009
The Unforgettable Fire – 25 jaars Torch Gallery. Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands
Selection. Werke aus der Sammlung Biedermann. Museum Biedermann, Donaueschingen, Germany
2008
Inventur. Zeitgenössiche Radierung in Deutschland. Kunstverein Reutlingen and Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso, Münster, Germany
2007
Hotel Kerberos. KIT Düsseldorf, Germany
Triband. With Martin Schepers and Gereon Krebber, KunstKlub Berlin, Germany
12 Artists from Germany. Dangerous Curve, Los Angeles, USA
2005
XIV. Deutsche Internationale Grafik-Triennale. Kunstverein Frechen, Germany
Grants and Awards:
2013
Catalog Promotional Award by Kunstraum Radius-Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany
2012
66. Bergischer Internationaler Kunstpreis, Kunstmuseum Solingen, Germany
2011
Artist in residence, Los Angeles, USA, Vancouver, Canada and NYC, USA
2010
Art Award for Painting, Kulturstiftung der Öffentlichen Versicherungen Oldenburg, Germany
2006
Working grant Bahnhof Eller, City of Düsseldorf, Germany
2004
Hogan Lovells Art Award, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany
