Jonathan Meese
MEIN/DEIN „K.U.N.S.T.K.O.R.P.S.“-RICHARD WAGNERZ“! (ERZVERBINDUNGEN DER TOTALSTLIEBE!!!!!!!!) TROMMELNDES GESAMTKUNSTWERK DE LARGE!

ART IS LOVE! LOVE WITHOUT END!
TOTAL UNITY OF ART!
INDEPENDENCE AND UNIQUENESS!
"RICHARD WAGNER" AS HEAD OF STATE FOR ART!

Jonathan Meese was born in Tokyo in 1970 and is one of the best-known and most discussed contemporary German artists. He lives and works in Ahrensburg and Berlin.

From 1995 to 1998, Meese attended the Hamburg University of Fine Arts, where he studied under Franz Erhard Walther. He left the academy without graduating and attracted attention that same year with his controversial installation at the first Berlin Biennale. With spatial installations made from everyday objects and images, as well as performances and actions, he quickly achieved his artistic breakthrough, also on the international stage.

His extensive and multifaceted oeuvre encompasses painting, sculpture, installations, performances, collages, video art, and theater works. Jonathan Meese often addresses figures and events from world history, primal myths, and heroic sagas, thereby opening up a discourse that extends far beyond his own horizons. By not shying away from controversial topics that often leave audiences unsettled, Meese undertakes an uninhibited and relentless exploration of human behavior.

The exhibition at the Jena Art Collection focuses on Jonathan Meese's engagement with the composer, conductor, writer, and director Richard Wagner. For several years now, Meese has been exploring Wagner as a kind of "center of gravity." This is evident in numerous works that draw from a multifaceted language of both admiration and critique. The exhibition presents works from various phases of his career, including familiar pieces as well as entirely new material – and, as always with the masterful artist Meese, we can look forward to what awaits us.