From May 6 to September 17, 2023, Kunsthalle Emden will dedicate the solo exhibition “Beyond The Void” to German artist Jan Pleitner in its foyer/atrium as well as its exterior.
Everything seems to glide and surge, be knocked off balance only to recover on its own account. Viewing Jan Pleitner’s paintings resembles a psychedelic borderline experience. With strong expressive gestures the artist works his abstractions out of the surface.
For Kunsthalle Emden, Pleitner has developed a new monumental painting in the atrium—the largest work ever presented at the Kunsthalle to date.“Painting is not about me as a person. Rather, I become a human component in a process of things. An exchange between the outside world and the resulting flood of information, an emotional filter in the midst of an interactive meditation, somewhere between world, hand, eye, and image.” (Jan Pleitner) His vibrant color palette includes the entire temperature spectrum. His physical approach leads to new color fields and archaic patterns emerging from overpainting, cutouts, and scrapings. Thus, Pleitner’s works can be understood as sensual-emotional experiences that pose questions about the rhythm of life, recurring biological structures, and cosmic unity.
Visitors are welcomed by Pleitner’s works even before entering the Kunsthalle: A large tent roof designed by the artist can be found on the lawn in front of the entrance. Lying on the grass beneath it and gazing into the swirls of color feels like being immersed in psychedelic worlds.
Jan Pleitner (*1984 in Oldenburg) studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Jörg Immendorff and was later a master student of Tal R. His works successfully blend into the art historical tradition of abstraction and refer to the artistic achievements of Orphism and Vorticism, as well as post-war positions of the CoBrA group. Jan Pleitner lives and works in East Frisia today.
Especially for the Kunsthalle Emden, Jan Pleitner has created an edition (of 100), which can be purchased at the museum. The silkscreen is an adaptation of his painting “Timebreath” (2023), which is also featured in the exhibition.
