Henri Haake
1989 Born in Lübeck, working and living in Berlin
2016 University of the Arts Berlin, master-class degree, Prof. Robert Lucander
2015 University of the Arts Berlin, graduate degree
2013 MFA Hunter College, New York City, USA
2010 Colour Works – Course, Lee Kozlik, Lübeck
„Everyday situations have always been the starting point in my work. It’s the ritual of this mundane action that interests me because it contains something spiritual or maybe puts the world in a personal order.“
Henri Haake’s oeuvre can be seen as a universe filled by a collection of poetic stories. Viewers recognize everyday encounters that build the fundament of his paintings and drawings. His works play with the presence and absence of their protagonists, an interplay of concealing, revealing and discovering the subject.
Haake often employs specific cut-outs and angles to create particular perspectives and portray a variety of topics. Compositions are a very important element to him, as they can make a work for example more abstract or show us a detail in an unusual way. Looking closer at the surface of the paintings we can see different layers of paint. Old parts of subjects that have been painted over shimmer through. In a playful manner Haake tries out and neglects ideas. Subjects he likes, he reintroduces in different formats, shapes and colour in order to experiment with his initial idea and to see how a thought can be realized in different ways.
Henri Haake’s paintings and drawings contemplate moments. They can be affectionate, endearing, even a bit sly—they show what you think you knew but from an unfamiliar perspective. Colour and form take centre stage, with human interaction creeping in from the margins. Haake depicts social, sexual, religious and political motifs in a playful approach and imbues the mundane scenes with both presence and poetic charm.
Selected exhibitions
2023
Another Day at the Office, OFFICE IMPART, Berlin, DE
Dammi i colori, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisboa, PT
OMG, OFFICE IMPART, Berlin, DE (s)
DREAMLINER, Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen, DK (duo)
2022
Honey Lotion, OFFICE IMPART, Berlin, DE (s)
GOING PLACES, Nicole Gnesa, München, DE
2021
At A Moment In Time, Jahresgaben 2020, Kunstverein Arnsberg, DE
2019
The Golden Age presents: Haake – Poznanska, KM28, Berlin, DE
WHAT'S LEFT FROM PARADISE, Rundgaenger, Frankfurt am Main, DE
all out „small“ closing, KWADRAT, Berlin, DE
2018
Panorama, Vienna, AT
demi-gros, Les Valseuses, Berlin, DE
That´s all right mama, XXY-Raum für Kunst, Berlin, DE
*(s) solo exhibition
Socials
Check out the Saleroom with current works of Henri Haake. For more information contact us.
