Nils Jendri

Bio

Nils Jendri – Splitter

Nils Jendri’s preferred medium for applying paint to a canvas is the spray can. Nevertheless, he emphasises being a painter, because, since the beginning of modernism, this term has shifted from be- ing defined by the tools used to the artworks themselves. Nils Jendri demonstrates how well he lives up to this claim in his exhibition “Splitter” at hood projects. What these radically colourful and abstract works have in common is that the motif unfolds within the given physical size. The pictorial composition consists of an implied construct that provides a certain stability but is complemented by seemingly chaotic structures and deliberately inconsistent lines. The work shows a state in between static and dynamic. It has an inherent rhythm and thus refers to the painting process, in which he likes to be accompanied by electronic music. He has been familiar with the act of spraying for decades, and it is this technique of application that contributes to the work’s im- pression of motion within it.

Apart from one achromatic painting that Nils Jendri is showing in the exhibition, all the others impress with their striking colour choices. It is a wild mix of metallic, fluorescent, and signal colours, often complemented by a few, but striking, accents of a straight one. The colour composition corresponds to the formal design and completes the unity that each of his works represents. It is clearly evident how the spray can makes his unique paintings possible. It begins with the misty, vague spray line and progresses to challenging colours. Not only that, but it is thanks to these factors that Nils Jendri’s works appear so chaotic yet methodically executed. Through rapid drying and the ability to spontaneously change the can and thus the colour, spray paint makes this type of artwork possible in the first place. This is a clear advantage over traditional painting methods, and Nils Jendri knows how to exploit it.