LONDON.- Ronchini Gallery presents the first UK solo exhibition of works by Berlin-based artist Jens Wolf. His geometric paintings on plywood panels explore colour, shape and flatness. The exhibition contains new works including a site-specific wall painting. Wolf is a key figure in the development of process art and from the same generation of artists such as Mark Grotjahn.
Taking inspiration from abstract movements of the 20th century, Jens Wolf directly references familiar motifs associated with artists such as Josef Albers and Frank Stella. In contrast to the hard-edged abstract works they reference, Wolf’s paintings deliberately contain imperfections. The natural grain of the plywood Wolf paints on gives his geometric forms a softer appearance; edges on lines are frayed and the sign of the artist’s hand in the making of the work is visible in unpainted areas with pencil lines. Obvious signs of distress occur in areas where the paint has been partially chipped away to reveal the raw surface underneath.
Lorenzo Ronchini explains: “Jens Wolf has taken cold abstraction and added his own visual language to create contemporary works that have a sense of vulnerability and individual expression about them. Jens Wolf has been exhibiting across northern Europe for nearly fifteen years and I am delighted to now be presenting his works in London for the first time.’’
Jens Wolf (b. 1967, Heilbronn, Germany) lives and works in Berlin. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe under Helmut Dorner and Luc Tuymans. Past exhibitions include: FRAC Languedoc – Roussillon, Montpellier (2004); Le Grand Café Centre d'Art Contemporain, Saint-Nazaire (2005); Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen (2006); Musée d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble (2007); MARTa Herford Museum, Herford (2008); Von Bartha, Basel (2009); MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna (2010); Marres Maastricht, Timmerfabriek, Maastricht (2011); Kunstbunker, Nuremberg (2012); Galerie am Markt, Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall (2013); FRAC Poitou-Charantes, Angoulême (2013); Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken (2013/2014); and Galerie MaxWeberSixFriedrich, Munich (2013).
His work is included in numerous permanent collections including: Daimler Contemporary, Berlin; MARTa Herford Museum, Herford; Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Kunsthalle - CCA Andratx, Spain; Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken, Germany; The Zabludowicz Art Trust, London; and multiple FRAC Collections in France.
