The exhibition In the Golden Glow explores the fascinating encounter between Japanese tradition and Western modernity – an encounter that has repeatedly given rise to new forms of dialogue and transformation throughout art history. At its center are artworks that bring these two worlds together in an interplay that is at once charged with tension and deeply harmonious.
The “golden glow” that gives the exhibition its title symbolizes both the radiance of traditional Japanese art forms, deeply rooted in spiritual and cultural meanings through their use of gold and rich symbolism, and the modern Western pursuit of innovation, freedom, and individual expression. These artworks weave the heritage of the past together with the dynamism of the present, bringing the deeply rooted aesthetics of Japanese folding screens, calligraphy, and iconography into dialogue with Western conceptual art, abstraction, and sculpture.
The fusion of tradition and modernity brought to life in this exhibition reflects not only the artistic exchange between East and West, but also a philosophical exploration of time, light, and the material presence of gold as a cultural symbol. Here, gold is understood not merely as a material, but as a concept that connects different worlds and creates a bridge between past and future.
In the Golden Glow thus offers a meditative reflection on the universal language of art – one that transcends boundaries to become a dialogue, revealing the possibilities of cultural synthesis and mutual learning.

Andreas Maier _ Works on Gold Leaf

Over the past twenty years, Andreas Maier has established himself as a creator of extraordinary representations of the natural world. With an unconventional background in veterinary medicine, he brings a unique perspective to his art, combining precise, lifelike imagery with luxurious materials. Central to his practice is the use of 23.5-karat gold leaf, which serves as the foundation for most of his works. This precious material lends the paintings an extraordinary luminosity and depth, allowing the animals and plants depicted to emerge in a new, almost magical light.
The meticulous attention to detail with which Maier portrays nature is as impressive as his technical mastery. His profound knowledge of the anatomy and morphology of the creatures he depicts enables him to capture the beauty of the natural world with remarkable delicacy and precision. The particular appeal of his work lies in the harmonious interplay between the warm, reflective surface of the gold and the often cooler, lifelike natural motifs. This contrast heightens the visual impact of the works, transforming them into a sensual experience that draws the viewer in. At the same time, the contemplative quality of Maier’s art creates a dialogue with numerous kindred works in Museum DKM, which similarly explore the aesthetics of nature and its significance.
Maier also takes an unconventional approach to his materials, using not only traditional wooden panels but also unexpected substrates such as reclaimed roof beams. These distinctive surfaces lend his works an additional dimension and make each piece unique. To further enhance their luminosity and depth, many of his paintings are presented behind crystal-clear Opti White glass, which not only protects the works but also intensifies their visual impact.
Andreas Maier’s art is a masterful fusion of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary aesthetics. It appeals not only to admirers of realistic representation, but also to those drawn to modern, sophisticated interior design. By bringing together gold leaf and meticulously detailed images of the natural world, Maier creates works that exert a calming and almost sublime effect on the viewer. His works are far more than mere art objects – they open a window onto the beauty of nature, framed in timeless elegance.

Sven Drühl _ Transcultural Perspectives: Japan and the West

Innovation often emerges where established traditions are questioned and familiar elements are interwoven in new ways or creatively rearranged. This impulse lies at the heart of Sven Drühl’s artistic practice. For many years, Drühl has explored landscape and architectural motifs from the history of art as well as from contemporary artistic practice. In his paintings and neon works, he repeatedly references works by artists from both the past and the present. Yet his work is not simply an engagement with what already exists; it is equally concerned with creating something new. Drühl deliberately arranges, combines, cuts, collages, and deconstructs carefully selected fragments, transforming their meaning and placing them within new contexts.
Drühl has devoted particular attention to Japan’s New Print Movement, known as Shin-Hanga, which emerged in Japan during the 1910s and 1920s. Artists associated with the movement combined the tradition of Japanese color woodblock printing – with its roots in the work of Hokusai and Hiroshige – with Western influences from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly the imagery of German Romanticism and the treatment of light characteristic of Impressionism. In his own visual language, Drühl undertakes a kind of “retranslation” of these supposedly “Romantic” Shin-Hanga works, shaped as they are by a distinctly Japanese perspective. He often combines references to Western art with the traditional elements of the movement, creating a dialogue between cultures and historical periods.
The exhibition features a work created with lacquer on canvas and silicone lines used to delineate its contours, producing an effect reminiscent of Japanese comics. The glossy, almost monochromatic white surface depicting Mount Fuji subtly evokes the fusion of Western and Eastern aesthetics, allowing the boundaries between the two cultural spheres to dissolve with remarkable elegance.

Yuji Takeoka _ Eastern Philosophy Shaping Western Modernity

Yuji Takeoka’s work unfolds within a field of cultural exchange: drawing on an Eastern tradition of thought and perception, he translates philosophical concepts rooted in Japan into the formal language of Western modernity. His sculptures are less objects in the conventional sense than precisely conceived spaces for reflection. They oscillate between autonomous form and functional object, between the suggestion of utility and a contemplative presence.
The pedestal, the display case, the hood – elements that serve functional purposes within the Western exhibition context – become bearers of meaning in Takeoka’s work. The exhibition pedestal is no longer merely a platform for an absent sculpture, but an independent sculptural statement in its own right. This shift embodies a central aspect of his thinking: the dissolution of hierarchical structures in favor of an open mode of perception.
In the exhibition, the work Absperrung (2010) occupies a particular position. With its golden elegance, it stands autonomously in the space, resisting any straightforward functional interpretation. Gold – in the Western context a symbol of value and representation, while in the Japanese tradition also a carrier of transcendence and light – becomes a point of intersection between cultures. It reflects not only its surroundings but also draws the space and the viewer into the work itself.
At Museum DKM, Takeoka’s works are situated in different locations throughout the building. They serve as recurring points of orientation, forming a kind of visual bracket within the museum’s architectural structure. Their minimalist appearance is combined with an aura of preciousness and distance. Glossy lacquered surfaces and gilded finishes reflect their surroundings—the work does not exist in isolation, but in dialogue with space, light, and movement.
At the same time, the works possess a performative dimension. Traditionally, the pedestal serves to present and elevate an object, while the display case provides a means of exhibiting it. Takeoka, however, presents pedestals that display themselves, vitrines that exhibit themselves, and hoods without a protected object inside. They are fragments of a reconceived notion of sculpture – fragments of an art whose dimensions and affiliations are constituted only in the moment of viewing.
In this way, seeing itself becomes the subject. Takeoka’s works resist definitive categorization and call for a heightened attentiveness. Through the reduction of form and the radiance of their surfaces, a transfer takes place: Japanese philosophy is not illustrated, but structurally inscribed into the language of Western modernity. His sculptures are quiet, precise interventions—places where thought and perception meet.

Günther Schloß