Robert Janitz
Robert Janitz’ (b. 1962, Alsfeld, Germany) begins with grounds of gradient color on stretched linen, which are then covered in strokes of semi-transparent paint whipped with flour.
The contrasting opacities and transparencies of his marks create fissures of light. Janitz asks fundamental questions, such as what is a brush, paint, or even a surface; and how, via his hand, these tools and materials can generate a mark. He handles paint bluntly: the broad strokes are direct and unadorned. Janitz carefully considers and builds the different pictorial planes of each painting, contemplating the two-dimensional work and its ability to create three-dimensional illusion— how color and shadow operate with and against each other.
Artist: Studio
"Painting becomes time travel in a way. The painting surface is a membrane that goes between two spaces—a membrane between inner and outer world. As an anchor in space, there is no need for an observer or an audience. The idea of yourself disappears, it folds together. It’s like time and space travel."
Artworks
Robert Janitz,
Paso Doble,
2021,
54 × 42 in (137.16 × 106.68 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
All this I am and want to be:,
2019,
54 × 42 in (137.16 × 106.68 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
The Cup 3,
2018,
25 × 20 in (63.5 × 50.8 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
The Thing (uptown),
2017,
54 × 42 in (137.16 × 106.68 cm)
Oil, wax and flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
Vanity Fair,
2017,
77 × 60 in (195.58 × 152.4 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
Space Age as it is,
2017,
25 × 20 in (63.5 × 50.8 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
The Compleat Works of Rabelais,
2017,
54 × 42 in (137.16 × 106.68 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
Social Furniture,
2017,
54 × 42 in (137.16 × 106.68 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Robert Janitz,
Earth has become Ether,
2015,
25 × 20 in (63.5 × 50.8 cm)
Oil, wax, flour on linen
Installation Views
Installation view, Robert Janitz at Anahuancalli, Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli, Mexico, 2022
Installation view, Robert Janitz at Anahuancalli, Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli, Mexico, 2022
Installation view, Library of a Dream, CANADA, New York, 2022
Installation view, College Robert Janitz, CANADA, New York, 2018
Exhibitions
Publications
Anahuacalli, Robert Janitz, 2023
Robert Janitz
Anahuacalli, 2023
Best of All Worlds, Robert Janitz, 2022
Robert Janitz
Best of All Worlds, 2022
Made in New York 2020-2010, Robert Janitz, 2020
Robert Janitz
Made in New York 2020-2010, 2020
Ex Libris, Robert Janitz, 2014
Robert Janitz
Ex Libris, 2014
Press
Suzanne Hudson "Robert Janitz: Robert Janitz at the Anahuacalli." The Brooklyn Rail October 2022
Sharon Butler "Robert Janitz: Reverie over reality." Two Coats of Paint January 16, 2022
Eser Coban "Robert Janitz: The Dandy Painter." Collecteurs December 2021
"Summer / Issue 1, An Honest Performance." balcony June 1, 2021 36-63
Eduardo Egea "Postmodernity vs Innovation." Crónica May 14, 2021
Eduardo Mora "Market and Significance." Crónica March 20, 2021
"Robert Janitz at Meyer Reigger Berlin." Blouin ArtInfo July 17, 2017
Hetti Judah "Figurative Geometry, Collezione Maramotti, Regio Emilia." ArtReview January 1, 2017
Suzanne Hudson "Robert Janitz." Artforum December 2015
"Robert Janitz." The New Yorker 2014
Karen Rosenberg "Old Black." The New York Times July 11, 2013
CV
b. 1962, Alsfeld, Germany
Lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico and New York, NY
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
Espionage, Nuno Centeno, Porto, Portugal
Sphinx, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Robert Janitz, White Lies, Kunst im Foyer, The Berliner Ensemble Neues Haus, Berlin, Germany
La Poste Pneumatique de Paris, Ruttkowski;68, Paris, France
2022
Carmina Burrata, San Carlo Cremona, Cremona, Italy
Robert Janitz en el Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli, Mexico City, Mexico
Eleven Studies of Everything, KÖNIG Galerie, Seoul, South Korea
El Secreto Del Mundo, Saenger Galería, Mexico City, Mexico
2021
Library of a Dream, CANADA, New York, NY
The Labyrinth, Sevil Dolmaci, Istanbul, Turkey
Best of All Worlds, Casa Gilardi, Mexico City, Mexico
Manierismo y Libertad, The National Exemplar, Iowa City, IA
2020
<3 is a Typo, KÖNIG Galerie, Berlin, KÖNIG Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2019
Change in Paradise, König Galerie, London, England
2018
College Robert Janitz, CANADA, New York, NY
Uptown Campus, Anton Kern, New York, NY
Robert Janitz? Lennart Constant?, Root Canal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Erst mit diesem Lack wird Unerhörtes richtig spannend, Meyer Riegger, Berlin, Germany
Hypothetical Types of Biochemistry, Team Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Kerckhoffs' Principle, Team Gallery, New York, NY
Nicht üben, machen!, Meyer Riegger, Karlsruhe, Germany
2014
Oriental Lumber, Meyer Riegger, Berlin, Germany
Stick Shift Heaven, Team Gallery, New York, NY
2013
Le Tra Verseur De La Tlan Tic!, Galerie Sobering, Paris, France
2012
How I Learned To Love The F, Shoot The Lobster, New York, NY
CLEARING, A Shoe That Fits Various Feet, Brussels, Belgium
2011
Art Dans Les Chapelles, Bretagne, France
PARCOURS, L’H du Siège, Valenciennes, France
2008
Faire Trace, Galerie Bernard Ceysson, Paris, France
Espace d’Art Contemporain, Atelier Blanc, Villefranche sur Rouergue, France
Maison Art Contemporain Chailloux, Paris, France
2006
DRIVE BY PAINTING, Leroy Merlin, Paris, France
NOLENS VOLENS PINXIT RJ, Moments Artistiques, Paris, France
Galerie La Girafe, Berlin, Germany
Le 10-neuf, Centre Regional Art Contemporain, Montbéliard, France
2005
AS220, Providence, RI
2002
Galerie du Haut-Pavé, Paris, France
1996
Huiles sur toile, Galerie Valleix, Paris, France
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
Places and Events, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany
APMA, Chapter Four - From The APMA Collection, Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
Mixed Pickles 12, Ruttkowski;68, New York, NY
2022
Peppi Bottrop/Robert Janitz, Marc LeBlanc Gallery, Chicago, IL
2021
Cerámica Suro: A History of Collaboration, Production and Collecting, Museo de Arte Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico
Units, curated by Christian Camacho, PEANA, Monterrey, Mexico
Spirito Andante, curated by Alex Chicle, Archive Collective, Mexico City, Mexico
2020
Dorian Gaudin / Robert Janitz, Galerie Pact, Paris, France
2019
Gazing into the void, Bjorn & Gundorph, Arhaus, Denmark
Frozen Gesture, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
2017
And Then There Were None, Meyer Riegger, Karlsruhe, Germany
Ear Putty, curated by Esme Thompson-Turcotte, Henry 56, New York, NY
A Show Yet to be Titled, curated by Lucie Fontaine, 83 Pitt Street Project, New York, NY
What’s Up 2.0, curated by Lawrence van Hagen, New York, NY
Neither, curated by Fernanda Brenner, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium
2016
Implosion 20, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY
Figurative Geometry, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Toute première fois, 22 Visconti, Paris, France
My Abstract World, me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany
Rebranding floes, Galerie Jerome Pauchant, Paris, France
"Hermann tritt schüchtern herein", Meyer Riegger, Berlin, Germany
I AM SITTING IN A ROOM, Jack Chiles, New York, NY
2015
Per Risplendere devi bruciare, Va-Va, Milan, Italy
The Painter of Modern Life, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY
Salon der gegenwart, Hamburg, Germany
Salón de arte contemporáneo 2015, Palacete Sousa, Barranco, Lima, Peru
2014
Lisson Gallery, London, England
En-trée, curated by Christopher Green, Middlemarch, Brussels, Belgium
No Ground But Say Ground. Halsey/McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY
2013
LAT. 41' 7" N. / LONG. 72' 19" W., organized by Bob Nickas, Martos Gallery, East Marion, NY
Old Black, organized by Todd von Ammon, Team Gallery, New York, NY
Let It Come Down, curated by Anton Zolotov, Hannah Barry Gallery, London, England
NADA Art Fair, Martos Gallery, Cologne, Germany
Informal Abstraction, Art Amalgamated, New York, NY
2012
Holiday Shop, curated by Olivia Shao, New York, NY
No Show*, curated by Joao Simoes, Temp, New York, NY
Le Geste et la Couleur, curated by Philippe Cyroulnik, École d’Art Gerard Jacot, Belfort, France
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - New Works from Berlin, curated by Vita Zaman, Magazzino d'Arte
Moderna, Rome, Italy
2011
CLEARING, To Follow, New York, NY
En Regards, Centre d’Art Domaine de Kerguehennec, Bignan, France
Royal Rumble, Miami, FL
Tax Day News & Smoke, Emily Harvey Foundation, New York, NY
Tranches de savoir, French Cultural Services, Payne White House, New York, NY
Winter Break, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY
2010
CLEARING, To Follow, New York, NY
En Regards, Centre d’Art Domaine de Kerguehennec, Bignan, France
Royal Rumble, Miami, FL
Tax Day News & Smoke, Emily Harvey Foundation, New York, NY
Tranches de savoir, French Cultural Services, Payne White House, New York, NY
Winter Break, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY
2009
Centro Cultural Borges, curated by Philippe Cyroulnik, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Exposition 5–31 Janvier 2009, curated by Jean-Charles Agboton-Jumeau, Ecole Supérieure Des Beaux Arts, Cherbourg, France
2008
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY
Rencontres Internationales, Paris, France (travelled to Berlin, Germany; Madrid, Spain)
2007
Colors, Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY
Regards Croisés, curated by Philippe Cyroulnik, Galerie Pascal Gabert, Paris, France
2004
Gread, Envy, Fear, curated by Linda Mussmann, TSL Gallery, Hudson, NY
Cooper Union School of Art, New York, NY
2003
Chantier Zen, TEMS-TV, Le Djurdjura, Paris, France
Galerie Nanky de Vreeze, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1996
The Sparkling Bag, Galerie Valleix, Paris, France
Austerlitz-Autrement, Galerie Valleix, Paris, France
1995
ART Basel, Galerie Valleix, Basel, Switzerlan