JOHAN SCHÄFER — Painting
Opening: February 13, 2014, 6:30 — 10:00 p.m.

Exhibition: February 14 — August 29, 2014
Mon — Fri, 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.
 
In the spaces of the Berlin Hyp, Budapester Straße 1, 10787 Berlin 



Johan Schäfer "Auftrag" 2013, oil, acrylic and lacquer on cotton fabric, 160 cm x 130 cm

The annual sponsorship award of PREVIEW BERLIN and the Berlin Hyp, endowed again in 2013, enables two artists to present a solo exhibition in Berlin. Award-winner Johan Schäfer (born in 1981 in Hamburg) will show his works in the gallery spaces of the Berlin Hyp from February onward. The show will open in the presence of the artist on February 13, from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m.
 
Johan Schäfer studied in the class of Prof. Peter Bömmels at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Dresden, from 2009 to 2012. He has been his master student since 2012.
 
In his often humorous pictures, Johan Schäfer deals with man's alienated relationship to nature. Humans seek to remain in control in every nook and corner, clearing weeds, pruning hedges and mowing the lawn. The human being as an individual becomes less significant in his pictures. Many recent works feature him as a "traveling salesman." The landscapes are mostly stylized and reduced to just a few elements. Everyday life in the immediate surroundings always has a direct influence on Schäfer's image worlds. The motifs mainly result from unconscious and playful considerations on drawing and are further developed in the painting process, with the works building up on each other. The artist avoids unambiguous messages and leaves it to the viewers to continue thinking about the pictures and complete themin their minds. It remains unclear whether or how everything is interrelated.
 
In addition to Johan Schäfer, Karolin Back and Jessica Schäfer from the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach were awarded; their works will be on view at Budapester Straße starting September 2014.

www.johanschaefer.de


Press release January 30, 2014