011

To-Do

The works on canvas summarized under the title 'To-do' show male figures performing various actions in a domestic environment. Since 2017, I have been collecting my personal to-do lists and recording the noted tasks and duties in drawings. The current paintings in the ongoing series draw on this material. The large-format canvases contrast with the simplicity of the original text specifications. This difference is reinforced by the scale of the motifs and the intensity of the colours.

A silhouette of a person doing yoga, in the background you see a dog and a screen on which another man is doing yoga

Yoga II, 2024, acrylic and vinyl on canvas, 170 x 200 cm

A silhouette of a person doing yoga, in the background you see a dog and a screen on which another man is doing yoga

Yoga, 2023, acrylic and vinyl on canvas, 170 x 200 cm

A man checking a plant infant of a screen showing a screen saver

e, 2023, acrylic and vinyl on canvas, 170 x 200 cm

010

Moody Layouts

The interiors in 'Moody Layouts' are filled with figures, objects and patterns. When not bathed in warm lamplight, the scenes glow in the light of various screens. Patterned pyjamas allow the bodies of the male protagonists to merge with each other and with the surrounding sofa cushions. The watercolours are small and densely painted, requiring a close-up viewing. By carefully tearing the paper, I have exposed the soft fibres at its edges in order to emphasize the work‘s materiality.

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 12 × 13 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 12.5 × 11 cm

Watercolour painting of a person sitting on a sofa, the sofa and the figure's pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 14 × 15 cm

Watercolour painting of a person sitting on a sofa, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 15 × 14 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 13 × 15 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 14 × 14 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 13 × 15 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2024, watercolour on paper, 14 × 15 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 11 × 12 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 13,5 × 15 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 14 × 13,5 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 14 × 13 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 14 × 13 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 12 × 13 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 14 × 13,5 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 11 × 14 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 12,5 × 13 cm

Watercolour painting of two people sitting a sofa facing each other, the sofa and the figures' pyjamas are covered in different plaids

Untitled, 2023, watercolour on paper, 17 × 13 cm

009

Message Board

'Message Board' was designed for a window display at the Lost Weekend Café in Munich. I was inspired by the bulletin boards of the nearby university buildings. The installation consists of a large-format wallpaper print on which 16 works on paper are mounted. By using 3D rendering programs, the print was designed to imitate and illusionistically extend the light situation in the shop window and the works on paper presented. This visual effect aims to blur the distinction between printed and tangible objects. Real and printed shadows overlap, motifs repeatedly appear.

A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board

Message Board, 2023, 260 x 210 cm (installation view)

A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board
A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board
A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board
A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board
A photo of an art installation that depicts colourful sheets of paper as well as drawings of men working in offices composed in the look of a message board

Message Board, 2023, 260 x 210 cm (detail view)

Book

Browser

The pocket sized booklet combines drawings and texts produced in the months leading up to the exhibition 'Blue Light' at Boutwell Schabrowsky in Munich. 'Browser' mines unused scribbles for future paintings, repurposed quotes, and notes from several sketchbooks to reflect on the shortcomings of language as well as the many hats images wear. Recurring characters are a missing cat, an open book, and question marks. The booklet's cover is embossed and the pages are printed on a risograph machine by Herr & Frau Rio in Munich; it measures 9.5 × 14.5 cm. Artist Giulia Zabarella helped compile the texts, while the design concept was developed in collaboration with Manuel Lorenz. The production of 'Browser' was supported by the Stiftung Kunstfonds.

A stack of small white books on a dark grey surface
A small white book seen from above on a dark grey surface
An open book, on the lower left corner a name is printed: „Browser's history slowly trickles into space“. On the right page a small drawing of a mind map is visible.
An open book, on the lower left corner a name is printed: „Shabby prints on recycled paper / Forming a lattice for her ideas“. On the right page two small drawings are visible.
An open book, on the lower left corner a name is printed: „Unsolicited advice by repurposed images / Included“. On the right page a small drawing a man reading a book and a coffee mug on a table are visible.
A photo of an open book. On the right page a small drawing of an open book is visible.

008

Night Views

'Night Views' shows painted reproductions of wallpaper images from Apple's macOS operating system. The nocturnal scenes in which I have embedded these iconic landscapes appear particularly enlarged due to their strong cropping. What happens in front of the screen - anonymous backs of heads and profiles of faces, bent elbows in checked shirts and pointing hands - appears flat like a silhouette thanks to the use of matt colors. In contrast, the use of watery colors and overlapping layers enhances the depth of the landscapes depicted.

A painting of an open laptop, two hands resting on the side of the screen and the keyboard, with a login screen and a landscape wallpaper

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 100 × 120 cm

A painting of a pair of hands typing on a laptop keyboard

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 120 × 140 cm

A painting of a silhouette adjusting a computer screen with a very messy desktop

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 160 × 190 cm

A painting of a person, only the checkered shirt is visible, leaning on a desk in front of a pink and brightly lit laptop screen

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 100 × 120 cm

Two silhouettes in conversation in front of a desert wallpaper on a laptop

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 80 × 90 cm

A painting of a checkered short. In the upper right corner a blank rectangle is visible and behind that a green landscape.

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 70 × 80 cm

A pair of hands holding a brightly lit tablet computer in their hands

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 60 × 70 cm

A painting of two people, a silhouette of a face and a shoulder are visible, in front of a green and blue brightly lit computer screen

Untitled, 2022, gesso and acrylic on canvas, 80 × 100 cm

007

A—Z

Each image in the 'A—Z' series shows a book being taken off a shelf or put back in by a hand or a pair of hands. The bookcovers are predominantly monochrome. They show neither text nor images. The position and gesture of the hand differs from image to image. The aspect ratios and dimensions of the canvases relate to the books depicted, which means that the paintings in the series slightly differ from one another not only in their motif, but also in their format.

A painting of a pair of hands putting a light green book into a book shelf

All 90 works: Untitled, 2021, acrylic on canvas, formats vary from 21 × 13 cm to 40 × 51 cm

A painting of a hand taking a light grey book from a book shelf
A painting of a black book being pushed by a finger onto a bookshelf
A painting of a hand taking a purple book from a book shelf
A painting of a hand taking a black square book from a book shelf
A painting of a person taking a black and blue book from a book shelf
A painting of a person taking a red magazine from a bookshelf
A painting of a hand taking a dark green book from a book shelf
A painting of a pair of hands taking a white book from a shelf of books
A painting of a hand taking a blue and brown book from a shelf of books

Book

Image Runner

The two-part publication 'Image Runner' was published by Hammann von Mier Verlag to accompany the eponymous presentation in the Galerie der Künstler:innen in 2020. The image part (open thread binding, 152 pages) includes 92 sheets taken from a larger body of work and created between 2017 and 2020. The accompanying brochure (stapled, 16 pages) contains the text 'Man in office making copies using photocopier' by curator Juliane Bischoff and a list with details about the production of each sheet. Both parts are printed in 4/4c offset and measure 24 × 32 cm each. The text part was designed by artist and graphic designer Jan Erbelding. The production of the publication was supported by the LfA Förderbank and the Free State of Bavaria.

A stack of four identical books on a dark grey background
Two parts of the same publication unpacked from plastic laying next to each other on a dark grey background
An open book showing a blank page on the left and a drawing of a man misusing a printer on light green paper on the right
An open book showing black and white papers on the left and fragments of a watercolour of a man inspecting a blank sheet of paper
An open book showing solhouettes of hands on a black background a a photocopied sheet of paper
An open book showing blank sheets of white and light green paper
An open brochure with a long text entitled 'Man in office making copies using photocopier' by Juliane Bischoff
A detail of the spines of the book with a green yarn

006

Grid Comforts

The images in 'Grid Comforts' each show a bird's eye view of a figure and a laptop, which I place on the grid of a patterned bedspread. The screens are blank or show an aerial view of the Californian island of Catalina, a pre-installed background image of the Apple operating system macOs. While the protagonist remains the same, both the lighting mood and the pattern of the bedspread change from picture to picture. This results in a number of different versions of the same motif.

A large blue painting of a man laying in bed seen from above staring at the empty white screen of a laptop

Untitled, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 200 × 160 cm

A large blue painting of a man laying in bed seen from above staring at the empty white screen of a laptop

Untitled, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 200 × 160 cm

A large blue painting of a man laying in bed seen from above staring at the empty white screen of a laptop

Untitled, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 200 × 160 cm

a large painting hanging on a wall showing a man laying on a bed seen from above staring at a blank screen

Untitled, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 160 cm

a large painting hanging on a wall showing a man laying on a bed seen from above staring at a screen with an island displayed on it

Untitled, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 200 × 160 cm

a large painting hanging on a wall showing a man laying on a bed seen from above staring at a screen

Untitled, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 190 × 160 cm

005

Copy Machine

A painting of a man standing at a copy machine in a library

Untitled, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 240 × 180 cm

A painting of a man standing at a copy machine at a library at night

Untitled, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 240 × 200 cm

004

Key Operators

The series 'Key Operators' focuses on the examination of immaterial work and the material handling of paper, which serves as a carrier of information, ideas and modes of representation. The watercolours and prints are based on stock images, generic material from image databases produced and used for illustrative purposes in advertising and the press. They depict people, primarily men, in office situations. By handling paper, computers and printers, they suggest cognitive but repetitive work. The devices are part of the image as watercolour depictions of the concrete technical machines as well as the result of their use. The pictorial space is additionally expanded by to scale prints of hands and their silhouettes, implying work taking place in the background. Certain works consist of watercolour on paper, others have additional inkjet-printed sections.

A watercolour painting on paper of a man in a blue jumper and kakis wearing a blue cap attending to a large photocopy machine

All 18 works: Untitled, 2018/2019, watercolour and inkjet-print on paper, 32 × 24 cm

A watercolour of a man at a desk looking at a number of blank sheets of paper
Two men conversing in an office like setting holding empty sheets of paper
A watercolour of a man in a checkered shirt looking at an empty sheet of paper
A watercolour of two nearly identical men in checkered shirts looking at an empty sheets of paper
A watercolour of a woman in a black suit handling blank sheets of paper
A watercolour of a man in a suit cut in half by a drawing of the same man in teh lower half of the image
A watercolour of a man in a blue shirt organising blank sheets of paper with a large hand coming in from the top of the image
A watercolour of a man in a dark blue shirt at a large format printer with a large hand coming in from the top of the image
A fragmented watercoloured and printed painting of a man in a checkered shirt looking at an empty sheet of paper

Book

How To

'How To' combines various found assembly instructions and my own drawings to create a unique publication. It focuses on the stripped-down beauty of functional drawings and their ability to establish a direct connection with the viewer. The informational aesthetics are progressively called into question by their repetition, distortion and exaggerated juxtapositions. The drawings in the publication have an instructional quality, yet they remain a call to action without a clear referent. The laserprinted booklet is presented in a sober brochure box attached to the wall and is free to take away for exhibition visitors. It measures 15 × 21 cm.

A booklet lying on a grey surface
An open zine with drawings
An open zine with drawings
An open zine with drawings
The backside of a booklet

003

Alternatives

The series 'Alternatives' depicts a person with rake in four similar paintings. All four motifs relate to four nearly identical photographs previously created for this purpose. The painterly translation of the motifs results in an added layer of difference between the images.

A painting of a man in a grey puffer jacket holding a rake standing on a leaf covered meadow

All 4 works: Untitled, 2019, acrylic on MDF, 40 × 30 cm

A painting of a man in a grey puffer jacket holding a rake standing on a leaf covered meadow
A painting of a man in a grey puffer jacket holding a rake standing on a leaf covered meadow
A painting of a man in a grey puffer jacket holding a rake standing on a leaf covered meadow

002

Backgrounds

The work 'Backgrounds' consists of 27 manual reproductions based on a found advertising photograph. The advertised object is omitted in favour of the background. Over 27 days, 27 variations of the same motif were created in the studio through the repeated attempt to establish a relationship of similarity between the photographic template and the painted image. The imprecision of the painterly process results in a multitude of images that are similar but never exactly alike.

A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner

All 27 works: Untitled, 2017/2018, watercolor on paper, 42 × 29.7 cm

A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner
A water colour painting on paper of a grove of eucalyptus trees, with a group in the foreground and one in the back and light falling through the leafy canopy from the upper right corner

001

Set #1

Sixteen works on paper that are presented as a set. In addition to landscapes, plant still lifes and figures, the images show motifs that are only remotely reminiscent of a specific object. In some cases the watercolors and ink drawings are overprinted with an inkjet printer, so that original and reproduction can no longer be separated.

an abstract image of textures and shapes

Untitled, 2017, ink and laser print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a watercolour of a sunset

Untitled, 2017, watercolour on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a drawing of tress reflecting in water, with abstract dark holes on top

Untitled, 2017, ink, acrylic and laser print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

Indian ink drawing on paper, black and white, unrepresentational

Untitled, 2017, ink and laser print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a line drawing of a face

Untitled, 2017, oil on paper, 26 × 18 cm

an abstract image of textures and swirls

Untitled, 2017, ink and laser print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

hardly visible palm tree motives covered with weird shapes

Untitled, 2017, watercolour and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a watercolour of a cactus detail

Untitled, 2017, watercolour on paper, 26 × 18 cm

an image of shark jaws souvenirs, very dark

Untitled, 2017, watercolour and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a cactus on a table with weird smoke-like structures on top

Untitled, 2017, ink, acrylic and laser print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a blurry watercolour and print of an exotic island location

Untitled, 2017, watercolour and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a blurry watercolour and print of an exotic island location

Untitled, 2017, watercolour and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

oil portrait of a man with a quizzical look

Untitled, 2017, oil on paper, 26 × 18 cm

a blurry watercolour and print of an romantic sunset over pine trees

Untitled, 2017, watercolour and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

a hardly visible painting of palmtrees and a shore line made with oil on paper

Untitled, 2017, linseed oil on paper, 29 × 21 cm

an unfinished drawing of a family

Untitled, 2017, graphite, resin, acrylic and inkjet print on paper, 29 × 21 cm

011

Why Look At Humans?

Studio, Munich, 21.06.2024 – 23.06.2024

In his essay 'Why Look At Animals?' (1980), author John Berger examines how the age-old relationship between humans and nature has broken down in the modern consumer age. Animals, which used to be at the center of our existence, are now marginalized and reduced to a spectacle. At one point Berger writes: "...animals are always the observed. The fact that they can observe us has lost all meaning." In a first attempt to take this fact into account, the exhibition project 'Why Look At Humans?' explores moments in which the relationship between species can be reconsidered and viewing hierarchies reversed: Why look at humans at all?

The first iteration of the exhibition project brought together works by Gisela Carbajal Rodríguez, Jonah Gebka, Claudia Holzinger, Felix Klee and Raphael Unger.

An installation shot of two artworks in a studio space
An installation shot of two artworks in a studio space
An installation shot of two artworks in a studio space
An installation shot of artworks in an exhibition space
An installation shot of artworks in an exhibition space
An installation shot of artworks in an exhibition space

010

Hosti·pets

Tiffany Street, Providence, 23.03.2024 – 20.04.2024

Hosti·pets is a show gesturing towards an impossible ethics, mapping the aporetic moment, where the dream of universal hospitality founders on its own threshold. It is curated by poet and writer Ulrich Baer and combines his text 'Video Nasty' with a video by art collective Alterotics, a song by musician Big Step, tufted sculptures by Eseosa Ekiawowo Edebiri and four watercolours from my series 'Moody Layouts'.

Three small watercolour paintings hung in a wooden basement
Small watercolour painting hung on a wooden wall
Small watercolour painting hung on a wooden wall
Small watercolour painting hung on a wooden wall
Small watercolour painting hung on a wooden wall
Small watercolour painting hung on a wooden wall

009

Moody Layouts

Strobe, New York, 20.10.2023 – 22.10.2023

The thirteen watercolors shown in 'Moody Layouts' are part of a body of work that positions various figures and objects inside a grid of plaid patterns. The paintings were hung at regular intervals throughout the space and accompanied by a short rhyme in the press release (download as PDF).

Installation view of the exhibition
Painting from the series Moody Layouts
Installation view of the exhibition
Installation view of the exhibition
Installation view of the exhibition
Installation view of the exhibition
Installation view of the exhibition

008

Blue Light

Boutwell Schabrowsky, Munich, 20.10.2022 – 26.11.2022

'Blue Light' consisted of six paintings installed in the gallery space as well as the text 'California Dreamin'…' by art historian Jana Kreutzer, that deals with the landscape motifs seen in the paintings on view. The accompanying artist book 'Browser' unites limerick-like rhymes and text fragments with drawings from sketchbooks used in the period leading up to the exhibition. A new collaborative videowork with filmmaker Max Draper employs the so called Desktop Documentary genre as a starting point to explore themes of communication, translation, and misunderstanding. It was presented online following the exhibition's run.

A gallery space with two paintings
A gallery space with two paintings
A large painting in a gallery space
Two paintings in a gallery space
A gallery space with some paintings and a view of a street
A blue painting in a white space
A person standing in a gallery looking at a painting

Text

California Dreamin’…, Jana Kreutzer

In his exhibition Blue Light, Jonah Gebka incorporates into his paintings reproductions of iconic contemporary landscapes: the preinstalled wallpapers of Apple’s macOS operating system. Since 2013, the US company has been naming new upgrades of its operating system after Californian locations and using their photographs as wallpaper. As a result, seven photographs of Californian natural landmarks have found their way onto the desktops of almost a hundred million macOS users worldwide.

007

Looking Glass

Museum of the University Tübingen / Ancient Cultures, Tübingen, 06.05.2022 – 16.05.2022
The presentation 'Looking Glass' consisted of drawings attached as partially transparent prints on foil to the display cases of the Museum Ancient Cultures in Tübingen. The drawings and their positioning picked up on both spatial and content-related aspects of the collection: Figures immersed in contemplation are juxtaposed with fragmentary representations of selected objects from the collection. The connecting element is formed by the gazes of the figurative representations. A limited edition booklet was available for free as part of the exhibition. It contains drawings and a text by art historian David Kühner.

Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a female figure is glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a female figure is glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a group of men observing each other is glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a group of men observing each other is glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a female figure holding a mobile is glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, drawings of a male figure and a stylized lion's head are glued to the glass of the display case
Museum display cases filled with greek vases and sculptures, a drawing of a male figure is glued to the glass of the display case

006

re:working archives

PLATFORM, Munich, 02.02.2022 – 18.02.2022

The group show 're:working archives' brought together work by artists Dominik Bais, Cana Bilir-Meier, Philipp Gufler, Hyesun Jung and myself, which alter, revise or redefine common notions of the archive. The artworks were shown alongside representative loans from independent (non-governmental) archives AAP Archive Artist Publications and Forum Queeres Archiv München e.V.. By doing so, curator Julia Wittmann presented history and its archiving as an unfinished construct. Exhibition views by Manuel Nieberle.

A person in black with a red bag standing in a gallery space infront of a table with four paintings hanging on the wall behind it
A gallery space with white walls, a grey floor, two long tables and six small paintings hanging on a wall
Five paintings of hands holding books on white walls
Many different artists books laying on a big white table
A group of people sitting at a large white table reading in different books with paintings hanging in the background

005

Take Your Time

Boutwell Schabrowsky, Munich, 06.05.2021 – 12.06.2021
The solo exhibition 'Take your time' presented 40 works from the series 'A—Z', lined up in regular intervals on the walls of the gallery. Two texts and a film accompanied the exhibition. The essays 'The Space of Translation' by Peter Westwood and 'Repeatedly Reaching For Questions Not Quite to Grasp' by Johanna Strobel deal with media translation processes and the relationship of reproduction and original. The film 'How To', made in collaboration with filmmaker Max Draper, restages various processes leading up to the exhibition and is narrated by a voiceover that provides detailed instructions on how to produce the paintings shown in the exhibition.

A gallery space with white walls, a wooden floor and ten small paintings hanging on the wall
A gallery space with six paintings on the wall, a window to the left and a door to the right
Five paintings of hands holding books on white walls, a blue and a yellow book in the foreground
Eight paintings of hands holding books on white walls
Three paintings of hands holding books on white walls
A view of a gallery space with several paintings and a large window looking onto a street
A painting of a hand holding a book hanging on a column with a view of bushes and a street seen through a large window in the background

Text

Repeatedly Reaching For Answers Not Quite to Grasp, Johanna Strobel

Figuratively speaking I imagine Jonah’s paintings being on the high noon position of a circular line of image distribution; as if his works would surface from a referential stock archive to take a deep breath before becoming references for subsequent works or diving back as documentation jpegs into Hito Steyerl’s swarm circulation of the poor image where there is no tracing back to a primary original anymore (Steyerl, 2009). While Jonah’s handcrafted paintings are inherently as authentic and unique as can be, their motifs come from a long lineage of simultaneous reproductions of similar versions and reaffirmations that don’t allow a tracing back of what references what.

Text

The Space of Translation, Peter Westwood

The act of making a translation might be thought of as seeking the real or endeavoring to find veracity. However, given its interpretive nature, a translation, and its original text can also be thought of as slightly uneven parallel acquaintances, cohabiting a space made discernable for its atmosphere of variation and difference. Positing translation as essentially embedded within every act of speech, Mexican poet Octavio Paz, asserts that primacy and stability within a text are always in doubt. Paz questions the hierarchical relationships between original and translation, claiming that ‘...all texts are original because every text is distinctive.’ (Barnstone 1992, p. 5).

004

Image Runner

Galerie der Künstler:innen, Munich, 08.09.2020 – 04.10.2020
The presentation 'Image Runner' was part of the series Debutant:innen by Berufsverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler München und Oberbayern e. V. In addition to my works, individual presentations by Helena Pho Duc and the artist duo Hennicker-Schmidt were on view in the gallery space. These were complemented by the artists' individual publications. 'Image Runner' was accompanied by the eponymous publication, published by Hammann von Mier Verlag. I additionally showed five large-scale works on canvas and nine works on paper from the series 'Key Operators'. Exhibition views by Asja Schubert.

Two blue paintings hanging in a large gallery space with an open arch leading to a second space
A blue painting of a young man laying in bed looking at a brightly lit laptop screen with a second painting seen through an open arch in the background left of the painting
A blue painting of a young man laying in bed looking at a brightly lit laptop screen
A large painting of a man standing at a photocopier in a library hung in a large gallery space
A group of nine framed watercolours hung on a white wall to the right and a large blue painting seen through an open arch in a second space on the left
A group of nine framed watercolours hung on a white wall to the left and a single framed watercolour painting hung on a wall to the right
A group of nine framed watercolours hung on a white wall

Text

Man in office making copies using photocopier, Juliane Bischoff

Jonah Gebka’s publication “Image Runner” is based on a series of drawings and copies that he has produced and developed in the last three years. They show apparently typical actions and gestures of office work, generic pictures of white-collar work without any specific context and not set at any exact point in time, but which are undeniably connected to the present. At this moment, in June 2020, they even resonate with the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, a collective state of being isolated and bound to a restricted living and working environment. In this text I examine, in relation to Jonah’s publication, aspects of production, reproduction and the processing of pictures, the visibility and invisibility of work within power structures, and the embodiment of social norms and standardizations.

003

How To

Galerie der Künstler:innen, Munich, 25.06.2019 – 30.06.2019
Part of the group show 'Tacker'. I presented nine works of the series 'Alternatives' as well as the publication 'How To'. The series shows concrete actions, such as copying, vacuuming or raking leaves. The multiple realization of these motifs in paint and the resulting, slightly different images are installed on the wall as an interrupted sequence. The take away publication 'How To' was located in a sober brochure box attached to the wall. It combines found representations from various assembly instructions with my own drawings. The instructions informational aesthetics are progressively called into question by their repetition, distortion and exaggerated juxtaposition.

Five paintings of of men raking leaves and hoovering a sofa hanging on the walls of a light flooded gallery
Five paintings of of men raking leaves and hoovering a sofa hanging on the walls of a gallery
A painting of a man photocopying and a booklet with drawings hanging on the walls of a gallery
A painting of a man photocopying hanging on the wall of a gallery

002

Diploma

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, 07.02.2018 – 11.02.2018
A selection of small-format works on paper, the series “Background” consisting of 24 parts, and the publication “Companion” were on view at my diploma show. The works dealt with questions of reproduction as well as the relationship between motif and edge of an image. In addition to empty landscape views, whose romantic promise is broken by analog and mechanical reproductions, some of the works show busy men pursuing ordering activities. In the take away publication “Companion” two anonymous protagonists talk about the surface of a picture-like object. Exhibition views by Sebastian Schels.

An white exhibition space with a row of five paintings on the left and a large group of paintings on the right
Twenty-four similar paintings of a group of trees hung in four rows of six
A row of five paintings on a white wall with a door leading to another room on the right
A drawing of a man holding a lamp and a green-monochrome watercolour painting of a forest hung on a white wall
An ink-drawing of empty canvas in a forest, an acrylic painting of a man raking leaves and a purple watercolour of a tree falling
A watercolour painting of a man in a checkered suit lying on a checkered cover on grass hanging on a white wall

001

Boxenstop I

Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, 09.06.2017 – 25.06.2017

With 'Boxenstop I', the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich, in cooperation with the Printmaking Workshops of the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, realized an exhibition project that was conceived exclusively for the display cases in the Pinakothek der Moderne. It was preceded by a competition organized by the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich, in which 12 artistic positions were juried out of 60 proposals. My presentation consisted of sixteen sheets arranged in a checkerboard fashion in one of the display cases. In addition to landscapes, plant still lifes and figures, the images also show motifs that are only remotely reminiscent of an object. In some cases the watercolors and ink drawings are overprinted with an inkjet printer, so that original and reproduction can no longer be separated.

A photo of a glass showcase with sixteen works on paper arranged in a chessboard-like fashion