Valentin Kinkeldei. Colour in the Square!

Opening on Saturday, 12 September, as part of the Nacht der Museen (Long Night of Museums).

On the large wall on the museum's first floor, the Museum für Konkrete Kunst will present a selection of works by the young artist Valentin Kinkeldei.

Valentin first encountered Concrete Art in 2012, at the age of four, in the exhibition Raw Materials – Vom Baumarkt ins Museum (Raw Materials – From the Hardware Store to the Museum) – in this very spot. His enthusiasm for the clear forms and intense colours was so great that he soon began painting in this style himself.

Fourteen years later, the museum presents a selection from the work of the young artist, who has Down syndrome. Like almost all of his more than 1,000 works to date, the pieces shown here are square, measuring 25 by 25 centimetres. They are further characterised by a reduced formal vocabulary and strong colour. Yet no work stands entirely on its own: much like a kaleidoscope, the individual geometric forms combine to create larger patterns that shift depending on how the works are arranged.

Valentin Kinkeldei's vividly coloured works convey more than a strong joy in life. They are also a fine example of how enriching art can be for all of our lives. With great precision and consistency, Valentin paints almost every day, without ever repeating himself in his motifs.