I Called Your Name from Beyond the Stars

Dennis Scholl's works are located in a space characterized by rituals, mysteries, and the interaction between the human and the non-human. His art interweaves elements of the Christian pictorial tradition with mythological and symbolic motifs that are both reinterpreted and transformed. In Scholl's visual language, these references are not merely decorative but function as vessels of meaning, charged with spiritual, emotional, and psychological intensity.

These new drawings exemplify Scholl’s recurring engagement with the tensions between brutality and beauty, violence and tenderness. In Der Böse und seine Blumen, a man in formal attire is partially consumed by a black, viscous skull-like form that merges with his own head; a haunting image of inner torment and psychological dissolution. Surrounded by delicate blossoms and glowing autumn leaves, the contrast between decay and floral life evokes themes of death, transformation, and the fragility of the self. In Ringsherum das Verglühen der Sterne, a serene, veiled figure, evocative of a nun or saint, clutches a rosary in a quiet gesture of prayer. Her expression is contemplative, yet otherworldly, as if suspended between transcendence and earthly presence.

The figure in Die sich abwendende Nacht, encased in what resembles a futuristic or ritualistic garment, wears a golden, sun-like object on their head and is accompanied by a small bird. The composition suggests a sacred or cosmic authority, but also a sense of solitude. Here, the natural and the divine are not opposites, but intimately connected, bound by gestures of offering and quiet exchange. The bird’s open beak and the blood-red accents further hint at sacrifice, salvation, and communication between worlds.

Scholl’s idiosyncratic visual cosmos consistently engages with questions of vulnerability, protection, and the search for meaning in a world that is both brutal and beautiful. His protagonists seem caught in states of transformation; embodied icons navigating spiritual and psychological thresholds. There is a persistent sense of exposure and intimacy: of skin turned inside out, of emotions rendered visible. The artist explores the questions of life and the deep emotional undercurrents that define human existence. Themes of sacrifice, giving, and transcendence take on central importance, inviting viewers into a space that is at once sacred and unsettling, a world where inner states are externalized and rituals are a requirement for survival.

Dennis Scholl has presented his work in a number of acclaimed solo exhibitions around the world, including A Report on Hidden Kindness at M+B, Los Angeles (2024), Neue Wunden oder Vom Beginn der Unmittelbarkeit at Kunstverein Göttingen (2024), and Das Reine, das Leichte und andere Erzählungen at Museum Modern Art Hünfeld (2023). Other solo exhibitions include Was die findigen Tiere merken at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Berlin (2019), Frühe Erzählungen at the Institut für moderne Kunst in Nürnberg (2008), and The Book of Impure Intentions at Albertz Benda, New York City.

His work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, such as KINKY – Malerei im Saft at Museum Reinickendorf, Berlin (2024), Hoi Köln 3 – Alptraum Malerei at Kölnischer Kunstverein (2024), and Polyreality at the Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2023). Further notable presentations include Medium Zeichnung at Kunstverein Gera (2022), doing identity. Die Sammlung Reydan Weiss at Kunstmuseum Bochum (2018), Mir ist das Leben lieber at Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen (2016), and Geschichtenerzähler at Kunsthalle Hamburg (2005). Scholl’s work is held in both private and public collections and has received international recognition for its emotionally charged symbolism and distinctive engagement with myth, ritual, and identity.

*1980 in Hünfeld, Germany

lives and works in Berlin

Solo Shows

2025 I Called Your Name from Beyond the Stars, Friday Bird, Berlin

2024 A Report on Hidden Kindness, M+B Los Angeles

2024 Neue Wunden oder Vom Beginn der Unmittelbarkeit, Kunstverein Göttingen

2022 The Song of Inclination, DSC Gallery, Prague

2022 Das Reine, das Leichte und andere Erzählungen, Museum Modern Art Hünfeld

2021 Der Buchstabe und die Organe des Gebens, Köthener Straße 28, Berlin

2021 Le Jardin Jaune, (in: From Arcadia to Dystopia, curated by Jane Neil) DSC Gallery, Prague

2019 Gefährdende Spiele, Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin

2019 Was die findigen Tiere merken, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin

2017 The Book of Impure Intentions, Albertz Benda, New York City

2014 Die Formen der Gefäße, Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin

2013 Les non-dupes errent, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brusssels

2010 Schmelzende Teilnehmung, Galerie Arndt, Berlin

2008 Der Hof Meines Kranken, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich

2008 Frühe Erzählungen, Institut für moderne Kunst, Nuremberg

2007 Für immer Faltung im Zimmer der Tränen, Arndt & Partner, Berlin

2006 Sinthom, Galerie Grimm/Rosenfeld, New York City

2004 Fehlgeschlagene Objektbesetzung, Blaue Kugel, Hamburg

Selected Group Shows

2025 Veils of Becoming, Kunstverein Meißen

2024 That’s What’s Up!, Trotoar Gallery, Zagreb

2024 Vitalis Violentia, PODIUM, Hong Kong

2024 KINKY – Malerei im Saft, Museum Reinickendorf, Berlin

2024 Threats of Continuity: What Lies Behind, Migrant Bird Space, Berlin

2024 On Flowers, Schaufenster Berlin

2024 WeltenWandeln, Kunstverein Göttingen

2024 Hoi Köln 3, Alptraum Malerei, Kölnischer Kunstverein

2023 The Logic of Error, Migrant Bird Space, Berlin

2023 Hoi Köln 1, Begrüßung des Raumes, Kölnischer Kunstverein

2023 Polyreality, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

2023 Les Enchantées, HAUNT Berlin

2022 Medium Zeichnung, Kunstverein Gera

2022 JUBILEE X, Frontviews e.V. at HAUNT, Berlin

2022 Medium Zeichnung, Kunstverein Gera

2021 The Eyes Of The Night Creatures, Delphian Gallery, London

2021 Universes 4 by Sasha Bogojev, Galerie Droste, Paris

2021 German Painting Now, Telegraph Gallery, Olomouc

2021 Days of Heartbreak, Pony Royal, Berlin

2021 A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss, Köthener Straße 28, Berlin

2021 Figuratively Speaking, O54, Berlin

2020 Fragmented Bodies, Albertz Benda, New York City

2019 Drawing Wow, Berlin con mucho arte (BcmA), Berlin

2019 Kopf an Kopf, Kunsthalle der Sparkassenstiftung, Lüneburg

2018 doing identity. Die Sammlung Reydan Weiss, Kunstmuseum Bochum

2018 Painting still Alive, Center of Contemporary Art, Toruń

2017 Body Electric, Galerie Sandra Buergel, Berlin

2016 Sternstunde, Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin

2016 Mir ist das Leben lieber, Sammlung Reydan Weiss, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen

2016 Speed, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Berlin

2016 like.ness, Albertz Benda, New York City

2015 Silent Service, Galerie Genscher Park, Hamburg

2015 The Nude in the XX & XXI Century, Sothebys S2, London

2015 Ngorongoro, Artist Weekend, Berlin

2014 L’Avventura – Die mit der Liebe spielen, Palazzo Guaineri delle Cossere, Brescia

2014 The Thoughts of Artists, Galerie Miro, Prague

2014 Full House, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels

2013 Between the Lines, All Visual Arts, London

2013 Berlin.Status (2), Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin

2012 Peace Support Operation, Galerie Hermann Breker, Kassel

2012 Everywhere and Nowhere, Arbeiten aus der Sammlung Reydan Weiss, Villa Jauss, Oberstdorf

2012 Anschlüssel: London/Berlin, Centre for Recent Drawing, London

2011 Nadine Fraczkowski, Jonas Jensen, Dennis Scholl, Bernhard Knaus Fine Art, Frankfurt

2011 mémoires du futur – la collection Olbricht, La Maison Rouge, Paris

2011 Totholz, Loyal Gallery, Malmö

2010 Busan Biennale, South Korea

2010 Täuschend echt – Illusion und Wirklichkeit in der Kunst, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg

2010 Lebenslust & Totentanz, Kunsthalle Krems

2009 MAN SON 1969 – Vom Schrecken der Situation, Kunsthalle, Hamburg

2009 Strahl Dich Aus, Galerie Samuelis Baumgarte, Bielefeld

2009 The Hawaiian Collection (Dennis Scholl und Jörn Stahlschmidt), Hafen und Rand, Hamburg

2008 Sie nennen es Hamburg, Kunstverein Hamburg

2007 Weltempfänger, Kunsthalle Hamburg

2007 Freunde für immer, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn

2006 Full House, Kunsthalle Mannheim

2006 Alles im Fluss, Altonaer Museum, Hamburg

2005 Geschichtenerzähler, Kunsthalle Hamburg

Scholarships and awards

2010: EHF Scholarship, Konrad Adenauer Foundation

2007-2009: Hans Günther Baass Studio Scholarship

2008: Herbert Zapp Prize