hiding between droplets of steam 

We reveal our innermost selves in the private realms of our homes. In the bedroom’s hushed embrace, we speak volumes without the need for words, sharing moments that are personal and tender. Around the kitchen table, we assemble to tell stories and eat together, fostering a sense of connection and belonging that strengthens our social bonds. In the bathroom, we strip away our defenses and embrace vulnerability, weaving routines and rituals into threads of solitude. The affective space of the home and the nature of intimate relations are a subject Clara-Lane Lens returns to, time and again. 

The Brussels-born and Berlin-based artist Clara-Lane Lens (1997) is driven by a search for the authentic. Through her paintings, which mainly depict human figures and intimate spaces of the home, she interrogates what sociologist Erving Goffman famously called the “backstage” areas of life, where people show themselves as they truly are – natural and unrehearsed. In her early works, Clara-Lane Lens primarily used domestic interiors as a vehicle for cultivating intimate moments. In this exhibition, however, she presents a series of bathrooms as an end in itself, exploring whether and to what extent the sensation that comes with our perception of making someone known can be evoked on the basis of space alone. Projecting a fusion of fact and fiction onto the canvas, Clara-Lane Lens presents complex compositions of different structures and colours that are rhythmically, dynamically related to each other. Playfully, she asks us to remove the distinction between the “real” or actual world and the imaginary order where rules do not exist. 

The paintings of Clara-Lane Lens mobilise thoughts and articulate ideas about intimacy. They also model intimacy as a process of authentic engagement, at least in terms of their creation and formation. When painting her subjects, the artist seeks a state of flow, describing it as a moment when everything “just clicks” and makes sense. Her stated goal is not to portray yet another variation of a mask or act that people put on for others in public. Instead, she breaks the ice and builds friendships with her subjects before painting them so as to ensure a certain level of trust and disclosure. Working intuitively and spontaneously, Clara-Lane Lens finishes her portraits in one or two sittings, reaping the fruits of her investment of personal time and effort in the person depicted. Free from the artificiality that infects many portraits, the works of Clara-Lane Lens make us feel a fresh breeze of genuineness that blows steadily throughout the exhibition. 

In looking for an essence of intimacy, Clara-Lane Lens has an important message to give. That is the value of opening up, being vulnerable, and sharing personal information, feelings, and experiences with others. In Western society today, there is an emphasis on competition and individuality that alienates us from each other, eroding the social fabric of communities. This exhibition beautifully highlights the cultural importance of intimacy that hides and resides in a poetic way between droplets of steam. Breaking down the protective walls we built around ourselves, Clara-Lane Lens holds up a mirror for us, imprinting on our memory the feeling of having witnessed something bold and brave. 

Biography 

Clara-Lane Lens (1997) is a Brussels-born artist who lives and works in Berlin. She paints in a figurative style, focusing mainly on people and private living spaces that she depicts using oil paint on canvas. Her work is known for its androgyne and can be understood as a counter to portrayals that take the form of a mask. Rather than beautify and idealize her subjects, Clara-Lane Lens attempts to reveal the concealed true identity of the depicted, looking for a certain essence of intimacy.  

Clara-Lane Lens has exhibited in Europe and beyond. Her works have recently been shown in Belgium, Spain, and the UK. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the Luca School of Arts in Ghent. JVDW gallery is proud to present hiding between droplets of steam as the first German solo show by Clara-Lane Lens. 

– Merit Zimmermann

portrait by Amira Hartmann

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hiding between droplets of steam 

We reveal our innermost selves in the private realms of our homes. In the bedroom’s hushed embrace, we speak volumes without the need for words, sharing moments that are personal and tender. Around the kitchen table, we assemble to tell stories and eat together, fostering a sense of connection and belonging that strengthens our social bonds. In the bathroom, we strip away our defenses and embrace vulnerability, weaving routines and rituals into threads of solitude. The affective space of the home and the nature of intimate relations are a subject Clara-Lane Lens returns to, time and again. 

The Brussels-born and Berlin-based artist Clara-Lane Lens (1997) is driven by a search for the authentic. Through her paintings, which mainly depict human figures and intimate spaces of the home, she interrogates what sociologist Erving Goffman famously called the “backstage” areas of life, where people show themselves as they truly are – natural and unrehearsed. In her early works, Clara-Lane Lens primarily used domestic interiors as a vehicle for cultivating intimate moments. In this exhibition, however, she presents a series of bathrooms as an end in itself, exploring whether and to what extent the sensation that comes with our perception of making someone known can be evoked on the basis of space alone. Projecting a fusion of fact and fiction onto the canvas, Clara-Lane Lens presents complex compositions of different structures and colours that are rhythmically, dynamically related to each other. Playfully, she asks us to remove the distinction between the “real” or actual world and the imaginary order where rules do not exist. 

The paintings of Clara-Lane Lens mobilise thoughts and articulate ideas about intimacy. They also model intimacy as a process of authentic engagement, at least in terms of their creation and formation. When painting her subjects, the artist seeks a state of flow, describing it as a moment when everything “just clicks” and makes sense. Her stated goal is not to portray yet another variation of a mask or act that people put on for others in public. Instead, she breaks the ice and builds friendships with her subjects before painting them so as to ensure a certain level of trust and disclosure. Working intuitively and spontaneously, Clara-Lane Lens finishes her portraits in one or two sittings, reaping the fruits of her investment of personal time and effort in the person depicted. Free from the artificiality that infects many portraits, the works of Clara-Lane Lens make us feel a fresh breeze of genuineness that blows steadily throughout the exhibition. 

In looking for an essence of intimacy, Clara-Lane Lens has an important message to give. That is the value of opening up, being vulnerable, and sharing personal information, feelings, and experiences with others. In Western society today, there is an emphasis on competition and individuality that alienates us from each other, eroding the social fabric of communities. This exhibition beautifully highlights the cultural importance of intimacy that hides and resides in a poetic way between droplets of steam. Breaking down the protective walls we built around ourselves, Clara-Lane Lens holds up a mirror for us, imprinting on our memory the feeling of having witnessed something bold and brave. 

Biography 

Clara-Lane Lens (1997) is a Brussels-born artist who lives and works in Berlin. She paints in a figurative style, focusing mainly on people and private living spaces that she depicts using oil paint on canvas. Her work is known for its androgyne and can be understood as a counter to portrayals that take the form of a mask. Rather than beautify and idealize her subjects, Clara-Lane Lens attempts to reveal the concealed true identity of the depicted, looking for a certain essence of intimacy.  

Clara-Lane Lens has exhibited in Europe and beyond. Her works have recently been shown in Belgium, Spain, and the UK. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the Luca School of Arts in Ghent. JVDW gallery is proud to present hiding between droplets of steam as the first German solo show by Clara-Lane Lens. 

 – Merit Zimmermann

Request Worklist

Back to exhibitions