JOCHEN KLEIN
After The Light
With works by Julie Ault, Thomas Eggerer, Ull Hohn, Wolfgang Tillmans, Amelie von Wulffen

17 March 2023 – 27 August 2023
#Polyphony

Jochen Klein (1967-1997) was an artist whose work, both as a painter and social and political commentator, was informed by questions regarding the private and public, and the interior and collective, aspects of life at the end of the twentieth century. 

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil on canvas. Courtesy Collection Daniel Buchholz and Christopher Müller, Colonia. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde L449-28, 1997, inkjet print on paper, clips. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde, 1996, c-print. Exhibition copy. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil and collage on canvas. Courtesy Private Collection and Galerie Buchholz.

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil on canvas. Courtesy Collection Daniel Buchholz and Christopher Müller, Colonia. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde L449-28, 1997, inkjet print on paper, clips. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome.

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1991, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy Private Collection. Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein, Leave a Message, 1994. Courtesy Thomas Eggerer and The Estate of Jochen Klein. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1994, oil on canvas. Courtesy The Estate of Jochen Klein and Galerie Buchholz. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1996, oil on canvas. Courtesy Wolfgang Tillmans Collection. Group Material, Market, 1995, Courtesy Group Material (Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein). Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein, IKEA, 1995. Courtesy Thomas Eggerer e The Estate of Jochen Klein. Group Material, Program of the Three Rivers Festival, Pittsburgh, 1996. Courtesy Group Material (Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein).

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil on canvas. Courtesy Collection Daniel Buchholz and Christopher Müller, Colonia. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde L449-28, 1997, inkjet print on paper, clips. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde, 1996, c-print. Exhibition copy. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil and collage on canvas. Courtesy Private Collection and Galerie Buchholz. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil on canvas. Courtesy Wolfgang Tillmans Collection.

Julie Ault, The Fugitive Figuration of Jochen Klein, 2022. Courtesy the artist. Thomas Eggerer, Boyzone, 1998, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy Private Collection. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1992, collaged artist book. Courtesy Private Collection.

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Group Material, Market, 1995, Courtesy Group Material (Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein). Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein, IKEA, 1995. Courtesy Thomas Eggerer and The Estate of Jochen Klein. Group Material, Program of the Three Rivers Festival, Pittsburgh, 1996. Courtesy Group Material (Doug Ashford, Julie Ault, Thomas Eggerer, Jochen Klein).

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio. From left to right: Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1996, oil on canvas, Courtesy Wolfgang Tillmans Collection. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1996, pencil on paper, Courtesy Private Collection. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1997, oil on canvas. Courtesy Collection Daniel Buchholz and Christopher Müller, Colonia. Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde L449-28, 1997, inkjet print on paper, clips. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri, Rome. Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1991, four wax and muslin sculptures, Courtesy Private Collection.

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Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1991, four wax and muslin sculptures, MACRO 2023. Courtesy Private Collection. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio.

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Jochen Klein, Untitled, 1991, four wax and muslin sculptures, MACRO 2023. Courtesy Private Collection. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio.

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio.

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Jochen Klein, After The Light. Exhibition view, MACRO 2023. Ph. Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio.

Trained in painting at the Munich Academy, Klein began to question his relationship to the medium and its elevated position in art-making in the early 1990s, shifting towards collaborative work before returning to the canvas during the last few years of his life.  After the Light is the first institutional exhibition that seeks to contextualize Jochen Klein’s work within the wider collective and personal preoccupations that characterized the lives and practices of the artists that worked alongside and with him. 

 

While at the Academy, Klein shared his discomfort with the self-referential aspect of painting with classmates Thomas Eggerer and Amelie von Wulffen. When Klein relocated to New York City in 1994, he jo