In a joint exhibition, the Folkwang Museum in Essen and the Leonhardi Museum in Dresden presented works by Jan Brokof, born in 1977. In doing so, they are drawing attention to an artist of the younger generation who has dedicated himself to the graphic arts in a unique way. Brokof’s woodcuts, in particular, demonstrate his innovative approach to this traditional technique, which he has taken into the third dimension with works such as ‘Jugendzimmer’, a 1:1 scale reconstruction. Through works such as ‘Jugendzimmer’, Jan Brokof has turned his gaze towards his own life experiences in a prefabricated housing estate in Schwedt, exploring the interplay between the built environment and the lives of its inhabitants. His more recent collages and colour woodcuts bring socio-political aspects even more sharply into focus. Jan Brokof created two large-format paper collages especially for the exhibition at the Leonhardi Museum. The artist worked in a studio-like setting right on site, in the museum’s main hall. ‘It’s like improvisation,’ he says. “An image grows out of a sketched-out basic idea. You let yourself be drawn into what’s happening in the space. There are moments of failure and setbacks, but also surprises and moments of joy.”
