11 SEP until 25 OCT 2025
Opening – 11 SEP 2025, 6-10 pm

We are pleased to present September, a solo exhibition of new works by Matthias Dornfeld, on view at Soy Capitán during Berlin Art Week 2025.Matthias Dornfeld.

“September” reveals a dialogue between past and present. The tradition of the avant-garde, its experimental and playful spirit converges with a confident mastery of the medium. In each work, it becomes clear that Dornfeld is not simply painting, but developing a personal visual logic: a world in which form, color, and line interact according to their own rules. What ultimately remains is less a definitive interpretation than the experience of encountering a painting that invents its own principles.

Dornfeld’s painting inhabits a space in which reality and its representation do not coincide. His portraits, still lifes, figurative and abstract compositions recall classical motifs, yet they appear as though they have undergone a long journey through distortion, displacement, and alienation. Lines are crooked, forms seem awkward, colors emerge in unexpected combinations — a palette that is often surreal, sometimes contradictory, and in its directness undermines any illusionistic intention.

Additionally, Soy Capitán is proud to formally present the publication of Dornfeld’s catalogue “danke, esslingen,” which was published in July 2025 by DCV Books. Following the comprehensive retrospective at Villa Merkel in Esslingen, this volume serves as both documentation of the exhibition and an in-depth exploration of its themes. It features essays by Friedrich Meschede, Daniela Stöppel, and Christian Gögger, whose contributions shed light on Dornfeld’s oeuvre and iconography. In addition, the texts examine the exhibition’s unconventional hanging and its critical reception, offering nuanced perspectives on both the artistic practice and its presentation.

Born in 1960 in Esslingen, Matthias Dornfeld studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he later returned as a guest professor. Since 2001, his artwork has been exhibited internationally. Solo shows include Danke Esslingen at Villa Merkel (2023), L’Amour Change Tout at Oldenburger Kunstverein (2022), Crème brûlée at Soy Capitán, Berlin (2020) and Paintings Sweet Paintings at Neuer Aachener Kunstverein (2014). Selected group exhibitions feature What’s The Story? at KMSKA Antwerp (2024), Ungekämmte Bilder at Pinakothek der Moderne Munich (2023) and Just in case you have forgotten at Krinzinger Projekte (2020).