via: mühlenbrink
Notes:
Jochen Mühlenbrink’s work is an intriguing exploration of perception, illusion, and materiality, often blurring the boundaries between the real and the represented. His paintings frequently depict fogged or frosted glass surfaces, complete with condensation, smudges, and finger-drawn marks, creating the illusion that the viewer is looking through a window rather than at a flat canvas. This play with trompe-l'œil techniques invites a meditation on the act of seeing itself, challenging the viewer’s expectations of depth, transparency, and realism. By meticulously recreating ephemeral effects in oil paint, Mühlenbrink constructs an uncanny visual space where the distinction between the physical and the pictorial becomes ambiguous.
Beyond technical virtuosity, Mühlenbrink’s paintings evoke a sense of longing, absence, and fleeting moments. His misted windows, often featuring traces of human touch, suggest intimacy and impermanence, as though we are witnessing the remnants of someone else’s presence. These works align with themes of memory and the passage of time, recalling the way surfaces collect traces of past interactions. The subtle yet deliberate inclusion of words or symbols, as if drawn into the condensation, introduces an additional layer of narrative, hinting at communication or unspoken thoughts. This engagement with the ephemeral gives his paintings a poetic quality, reinforcing the tension between representation and reality.
However, while Mühlenbrink’s work is undeniably skillful and conceptually rich, it occasionally risks becoming overly reliant on its central visual gimmick. The fogged-glass motif, though striking, can sometimes feel like an aesthetic device that prioritizes illusionistic effect over deeper conceptual expansion. While his strongest pieces push beyond mere technical prowess to explore themes of perception, temporality, and absence, others can verge on repetition, offering less variation in emotional or intellectual impact. Nonetheless, his ability to manipulate paint into a convincingly atmospheric and tactile surface is remarkable, ensuring his work remains visually compelling and thought-provoking within contemporary painting discourse.
- RJG