Facades. Walls. Windows. Shadows. Visiting Daniels Behrendt’s show is like walking through the city. But it is not the crowds of people we encounter, nor the sights. We immerse ourselves in its soft hues. The artist is interested in the ordinary functional architecture and the abandoned, often overlooked corners and edges. These ›non-places‹ evoke a profound beauty, even though they are mere surface.

Form and content inter-determine each other, since the illusion of a façade is connected to its alleged reality, created with multi-layered oil paint that gives the appearance of the surface of a plastered wall. A minimalist approach characterizes Daniel Behrendt’s work, focused on a devotion to detail. The figurative is at the same time abstract, even ornamental, a play of shapes and colors, most of all of fine color nuances.

The artist presents the outside only and despite the painted windows, we cannot look into the safe, familiar inside. Like a protective wall the images seem to deflect our gaze, but at the same time their poetry infuses us. A soft melancholy is transmitted from work to viewer, throwing the viewers back upon themselves.

You are cordially invited to attend the opening of Daniel Behrendt’s exhibition on Thursday, January 23rd, from 6pm till 10pm. All galleries part of the Cologne Contemporaries will open their doors for you that evening. Please also visit the group show of the Brussels Cologne Contemporaries at t.a.t, Agrippastrasse 37 in Cologne on Friday 24th. I will present new works by Martina Sauter. We look forward to seeing you!