Ivan De Menis (* 1973 in Treviso) studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. De Menis covers his work surfaces generously with paint, works in thick layers, letting the highly pigmented acrylic paint run down the sides. In his series of works, small-format, rectangular or square pictorial objects are created, which develop an intense color and luminosity and give a hint of the artist's working process, as the various layers are exposed at the sides. The charm of the works can be seen in the contrast of the almost silky smooth surface and the rough side surfaces, marked with color streaks and drops, as well as flaked layers. His works can be found in numerous private and public collections in Germany and abroad.

The young artist Minh Dung Vu (*1995 in Vietnam), who lives in Leipzig and studies at the HGB, is showing a selection of new works. His reduced, abstract compositions show a subtlety that Vu creates by means of minimal interventions. Finely painted and specially dyed fabrics such as silk are sewn to the canvas by Minh Dung Vu, thus expanding the classical concept of painting. His fascination with a wide variety of fabrics and textiles and their mutability are the starting point for his works. Depending on its thickness and structure, fabric behaves differently and can be stretched and worked in different ways. Vu blends colours and shapes with playful ease, yet precisely and harmoniously in his works.

For over two decades, Douglas Witmer (b. 1971 in Winchester, Virginia) has continuously and subtly explored the materiality of the painted object, gradually refining his work within the framework of reductive abstract painting. His elemental compositional structures are activated by sensuous colors and varied improvised gestural and accidental actions. His enduring interest is in creating a visual place that invites personal experiences of sight and sensation in an open-ended way.