Horst Janssen Museum, Oldenburg:
‘I was an adventurous eater’ – Horst Janssen serves up
March 8 – June 9, 2025
Culinary art in Janssen's work will be the subject of a special exhibition for the first time. In his works, Horst Janssen often deals with everyday motifs from his immediate surroundings, including foodstuffs such as fish or avocados and kitchen utensils such as coffee cups or plates. By emphasising the detailed forms and structures, Janssen succeeds in bringing out the unmistakable quality of these seemingly banal objects in his works.
Accompany Horst Janssen through his day!
Janssen's culinary works resemble snapshots of his day. The exhibition is organised like a typical day in the life of the artist, from the first coffee and an egg for breakfast in the early morning, still in his bathrobe, to a visit to the bar with good music in the late evening. The morning is characterised by an intensive work phase, after which Janssen prepares his infamous apple pancakes for visitors for lunch. After a game of chess in the afternoon, the artist goes to his favourite Italian restaurant in the evening, where he often settles his bill with a drawing on the tablecloth. Janssen's ambivalent relationship to addictions and pleasures is also thematised in the exhibition.
Masterpieces, everyday art and biographical objects
On display are typical masterpieces by the North German artist such as watercolours, drawings and etchings, which are presented embedded in the artist's daily routine. Special attention is paid to his everyday art, which he left behind on seemingly insignificant objects - on letters, shopping lists, promissory notes, the wrapping paper of wine bottles, beer mats, aprons and serviettes. There are also biographical objects, such as Janssen's bathrobe or shaving mirror, as well as photographs from Janssen's everyday life, which give visitors a private view of the artist.
