Based on a visual vocabulary of complex forms and surreal fragments, the work of Jan-Ole Schiemann is grounded in both gestural abstraction and the history of 20th-century animation, aspects that combine to imbue his work with a rare sense of kinetic energy. Half-formed, simultaneously disappearing and reappearing shapes suggest that somewhere amidst the lines, there are figures tumbling, colliding, or fighting obscured by clouds of smoke. Schiemann’s process begins with a collection of references—cut-outs from cartoon strips and elements from his own drawings—before they form a new visual universe through the artist’s use of automatism.
Kasmin’s first Online Viewing Room of works by Cologne-based artist Jan-Ole Schiemann was titled Weltgeist auf Grundeis and released in 2020. The presentation led readers behind the scenes at the artist’s studio to give an exclusive look at a series of new works on paper alongside a single large-scale painting, all of which were created by Schiemann during the COVID-19 lockdown. The viewing room included this video interview with the artist conducted by art historian and writer Philipp Fernandes do Brito, in which they discuss Schiemann’s process and approach to painting.
To explore Weltgeist auf Grundeis, click here.
