1 MAY until 13 JUN 2026
Opening – 1 MAY 2026, 6-10 pm

Capitain Petzel is pleased to announce Rodney McMillian‘s first solo exhibition with the gallery, opening during  Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026. The exhibition will be open for a press preview on 29 April, 11 am – 3 pm, the artist will be present. On 2 May at 2 pm, an artist talk with Kathleen Rahn (Director, Marta Herford) will take place (location: tbc).

Los Angeles-based artist Rodney McMillian (born 1969 in Columbia, South Carolina) is known for his multidisciplinary practice, which includes painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and writing. His work often addresses themes of race, labor, and social inequality, drawing attention to overlooked materials and marginalized histories. McMillian frequently uses found objects such as blankets, tarps, and architectural fragments, transforming them into powerful statements about care, survival, and political resistance. Through his art, he challenges traditional narratives and invites viewers to reflect on the social structures that shape everyday life.

For his first exhibition with Capitain Petzel, McMillian will present a group of new works from his Black Paintings series, alongside sculptures and a recently completed film. The Black Paintings are among his most recognized bodies of work. Their heavily worked surfaces are marked by folds, seams and vivid chromatic variations. McMillian often uses unconventional materials such as (black) vinyl and fabric, which he paints and manipulates so that their physical qualities remain visible. They do not serve merely as a surface; rather, they appear structured, worn, and materially present. While these works enter into dialogue with the tradition of abstract painting – particularly artists like Ad Reinhardt – McMillian challenges the notion of “pure” abstraction. His black paintings can be read politically, referencing Black identity, visibility and invisibility, and broader social and historical power structures embedded within both US-American society and the history of art.

McMillian’s work has been featured in major international exhibitions, most recently in the comprehensive survey The Land: Not Without a Politic at Marta Herford Museum, Germany, which presented works spanning his career and was accompanied by an exhibition catalogue. In spring 2026, he will have a solo exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina. McMillian was included in the 2022 Whitney Biennial and has exhibited at institutions including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; MoMA PS1, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Studio Museum in Harlem; the Aspen Art Museum; and ICA Philadelphia. His work is held in prominent public collections such as The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Haubrok Collection, Berlin, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

1 MAY until 13 JUN 2026

3 MAY at 12 pm
Book Presentation with Readings, Artist Talk, New Works
With Fid Fischer, Sophie Robinson and Mason Leaver-Yap

The exhibition by Stefanie Heinze places her monograph Your Mouth Comes Second at its center, while simultaneously offering an expanded insight into Heinze’s artistic practice. It brings together a selection of new as well as earlier works.

Stefanie Heinze’s work moves between painting and drawing and is characterized by a distinctive, often fragmentary visual language. Her works combine figurative suggestions with abstract elements, creating a dense, associative imagery in which bodies, spaces, and signs overlap. Recurring motifs are varied and shifted, so that meaning is not fixed but unfolds in the process of viewing.

The presentation is accompanied on Sunday, May 3 at 12 pm by two readings, in which Sophie Robinson and Fid Fischer – both contributors to the catalogue – present their texts and offer different perspectives on Heinze’s work. A conversation between Stefanie Heinze and Mason Leaver-Yap deepens key themes of the publication and provides space for a direct exchange about artistic processes and conceptual references. In this constellation, a multilayered dialogue emerges between image, text, and voice.

Stefanie Heinze (b. 1987 in Berlin) held a solo show at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, in 2024–2025. The artist has gained recognition for her distinctive style and exhibited in institutions worldwide, among them Le Consortium Museum, Dijon; The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Boros Foundation at Berghain, Berlin; Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Museum Arnhem and at Sammlung Philara, Düsseldorf.

Heinze’s works are held in collections worldwide, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris; MAMCO, Geneva; Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; The Hepworth Wakefield, UK; Marguerite Hoffman Collection, Dallas; The Rachofsky Collection, Dallas; Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre, UK; the Delfina Collection, UK; and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, among others.