NYAB Event - Jan-Ole Schiemann Exhibition

Jan-Ole Schiemann Exhibition

Half Gallery

This event has ended.

” WHY DON’TCHA USE FRESH INK WHEN YOU DRAW ME? I’VE GOT NO MORE PEP THAN A SNAIL UNDER ETHER”

Reds and blues and greens and oranges are interlopers in the paintings of Jan-Ole Schiemann whose palette leans overwhelming toward shades of chocolate and grayscale. While his compositions - graphic and surgical - compete for deep space, imbuing the pictures with an undeniable third dimension, it is the odd pale boxes which he calls loops, which confound one’s sense of foregrounding. Multiple layers of ink are disrupted by Schiemann’s loops, the effect akin to that of acetate strips, and create an overall collage-like impression.

Schiemann’s foundation of surreal imagery is based on Max Fleischer’s iconic 1930s cartoons. He begins by collecting source material and reworks fragments of these images using transparencies. His selections are then projected onto the wall, with each image serving as a new layer of content. The pictures begin with bold, absorbent fields that feel like dyes or stains, providing the groundwork for successive layers of more restrained gestures. The resulting surface creates the illusion of depth, but is surprisingly flat.

Formally, Schiemann’s paintings follow a pattern similar to comic strips or even filmstrips, painted frame upon frame. The main characters emerge from the eerie, exaggerated shapes of shadows or the elegant curve of Betty Boop’s camisole originally secondary players in a scene. Schiemann utilizes found footage from the cartoons while merging the appropriated imagery with elements from his own drawings. Although the compositions are prepared in advance, there always remains an element of improvisation as the painting evolves.

In addition to his paintings, Schiemann’s works on paper are integral to his evolution. Both bodies of work, often created concurrently, influence one another in form and language. His drawings bring together elements of memories and his own interpretations of the films. As shapes pop in and out, it is clear that many of the artist’s own marks are directly translated into his paintings. Shown together, they give a richer glimpse into Schiemann’s development.