I don't think Jochen Mühlenbrink ever imagined that his work could have an educational impact. The German painter, who can completely bend reality to his will through painting, regularly elicits admiration from visitors with this work. It is a single work, but it is full of details and double layers that slowly reveal the content and meaning of the work. “What do you think it is?” I ask the viewers. There is always someone who sees that it is a workplace or a storage facility. It is not a work that immediately elicits enthusiastic responses.
The realization that they are looking at a trompe-l'oeil only sinks in later. Suddenly, they see shadows that are not there. Panels that are not there but are painted. Tape that is not tape but is painted. At that moment, admiration arises for what they see. After my question whether they also see the workplace, the artist's studio, in the work, I see their eyes scanning the canvas. Searching for the studio. Sometimes someone sees it, but often enough I have to point it out. It is the light coming through the windows that is reflected in the canvas. Then admiration is expressed for the second time. That light is a phenomenal detail in the work. It not only shows how sharp Mühlenbrink's eye is, but also demonstrates his craftsmanship. When you study the light up close, you can see how he suggests it with subtle color differences in almost invisible brushstrokes. Not painted as if by a hyperrealistic fine painter, but painted with a (brush) gesture and balanced color that are entirely unique to Mühlenbrink.
Jochen Mühlenbrink (Freiburg, 1980) works in Düsseldorf.
