Exhibition Opening: Friedemann Hahn

Dear art friends,

I would like to invite you to the exhibition opening at the Landesmuseum Mainz. What is this about?

"The exploration of Vincent van Gogh’s work and artistic persona is one of the central themes in Friedemann Hahn’s oeuvre and forms the focus of this exhibition. Through his process of abstraction, in which he paints over and deconstructs van Gogh’s motifs in an almost intoxicating frenzy of colour, Hahn simultaneously explores his own artistic identity and engages with the traditions of art history. His paintings operate on multiple levels of meaning: they not only reveal the compositions of this iconic figure in art history but, above all, exaggerate and challenge the artistic myth that has grown up around him.

The image of the artist as a failure, rejected by society, was shaped in particular by the Protected content adaptation of the biographical novel Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas. As an avid film enthusiast, Hahn often used stills that he had taken himself from this classic as the starting point for his works.

Hahn, who taught painting for over 20 years as a professor at the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts at Johannes Gutenberg University, references a cliché, the actor who becomes one with van Gogh in his signature role, and the repertoire of images embedded in the collective memory. These familiar motifs serve as a kind of framework underpinning his works."

The opening ceremony is free of charge.

Looking forward to see you there.