Jochem Hendricks Intercontinental Avatar

The works of Jochem Hendricks are spectacular, surprising, and sharp-witted: the conceptual artist, born in 1959 near Frankfurt am Main, explores various life concepts, personality structures, and societal mechanisms. He often starts from familiar desires and fears, which he then critiques, often with humor and frequently with irony. With his works, he consciously taps into the fantasies, memories, and ideas—essentially, the projections—of the viewers.

Hendricks' works are playful, sensitive, and simultaneously provocative. While they are often very engaging on an aesthetic level, their complex interrelations subtly question the systems and connections we tend to take for granted. Traditionally, artists are masters of artistic tricks and illusion. The way Hendricks engages with this tradition opens up a vast space for interpretation. Like many other conceptual artists, he encourages us to question our worldview, remain open-minded, and develop a healthy irony in light of everyday experiences.

Most of Hendricks' works relate to perception, but a perception that concerns whether what we see, feel, or think is truly what we want—or perhaps not.

A key characteristic is that they always present a challenge. It is nearly impossible to escape them; they do not leave one indifferent. This is true both emotionally and intellectually. Viewing Hendricks' works usually means remaining tense. He does not aim for the audience to adopt a calm, enamored gaze. The discomfort that often arises when encountering his works is one of the important keys to never remaining cool and detached.

(Excerpt from a text by Dorothea Strauss, 2012)