Neven Allgeier (b. 1986, Wiesbaden, Germany) is a photographer who lives and works in Frankfurt/Main and Vienna. His work reflects the tension of contemporary youth cultures navigating a world in crisis, portraying a fragile yet resilient sense of identity amidst global uncertainty. Allgeier has worked with numerous newspapers and magazines like ZEIT Magazin, i-D Magazine, SPIKE Art Quarterly and 032c. He has published two monographs with Distanz Verlag in 2021 and 2022. In recent years, his work has been shown in several group and solo exhibitions. His solo exhibition „Drown in Dreams“ is currently running at the Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden.
Enya Burger (b. 1996, Düsseldorf, Germany) graduated from Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the class of Prof. Gregor Schneider in 2024. Previously she received the master title from Prof. Marcel Odenbach. Burger’s practice spans video, immersive sculptures, and installations. Her work draws from personal experiences of being a queer woman, as well as theoretical discourse in the natural and social sciences. Burger has exhibited across Germany and received numerous prizes such as the 78. Internationaler Bergischer Kunstpreis.
Judith Dean (b. 1965, Billericay, UK) is a London-based artist working across media such as installation, sculpture, performance, video, and painting. She studied Fine Art at Wimbledon School of Art (1988) and at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (1993). In her paintings, Dean encourages viewers to consider how perspective, authorship, and the act of looking are not neutral processes but deeply conditioned by context, technology, and the subconscious mind. Dean has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, with at least 4 solo shows and 15 group exhibitions over the last 28 years. In 2005, she was awarded the Jerwood Sculpture Prize.
Merav Kamel (b. 1988, Israel) and Halil Balabin (b. 1987, Israel) have been working together since 2012. They both studied Fine Arts at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (2012, 2014). The Tel Avivbased duo has collaborated on a diverse body of work that spans various technique and media such as hand-sewn figures, drawing, painting, sculpture, and site-specific installation. Kamel and Balabin had numerous solo and group exhibitions in countries like Israel, Germany and the US. They have received prizes like the Beatrice S. Kolliner Award for Young Israeli Artists. Their work is included in many public and private collections such as the Philara collection, the Carry and Dan Bronner collection and the Ann and Ari Rosenblatt collection.
Kolja Kärtner Sainz (b. 1998, Germany) is a painter based in Leipzig, where he is currently pursuing his Fine Art degree at the HGB Leipzig. In his work, Kolja Kärtner Sainz seeks an ideal intermediate state where representation and abstraction can coexist. Working with oil and ink on many layers, he deeply explores speculative states of possibility, merging the organic, the technical, and the digital. Alongside solo shows in Paris, London and Milan his work has been featured in group shows with galleries in New York, Seoul, Beijing and Germany.
In our hyper-productive, success-driven society, planning ahead is often seen as essential. A quick Google search reveals countless headlines urging us to always be prepared: “The most important thing is to have a plan” or “Why you should definitely have a ‘Plan B.’”. Brad Pitt shows us just how far a good Plan B can take you.
Our obsession with planning runs deep, especially in Western societies, where planning structures our lives down to the finest detail. From planning our daily routines to charting out larger life goals like five-year career plans and ten-year financial strategies: People are constantly striving to maintain control over the future. Of course, structure is important. It helps us navigate our lives and accomplish what we want. However, there is a great deal of value in embracing “the no plan plan.” Sometimes, the best course of action for ourselves and for art, the Croatian artist Mladen Stilinović argues, is to resist the pressures of productivity, promotion, and competition – the systems that constantly measure who’s first and who’s next.
the no plan plan invites us to rethink the way we move through life. It’s a call to slow down, to loosen our grip on the future, and to find moments of stillness and spontaneity in the present. It’s about embracing the possibility that, sometimes, the best things happen when we least expect them—when there’s no plan at all.
The exhibition presents works by Neven Allgeier, Enya Burger, Judith Dean, Merav Kamel & Halil Balabin, and Kolja Kärtner Sainz. Through various media, these artists offer different perspectives on personal and collective experiences in today’s world, touching on issues like gender, power, and identity.
– text by Merit Zimmermann
Neven Allgeier (b. 1986, Wiesbaden, Germany) is a photographer who lives and works in Frankfurt/Main and Vienna. His work reflects the tension of contemporary youth cultures navigating a world in crisis, portraying a fragile yet resilient sense of identity amidst global uncertainty. Allgeier has worked with numerous newspapers and magazines like ZEIT Magazin, i-D Magazine, SPIKE Art Quarterly and 032c. He has published two monographs with Distanz Verlag in 2021 and 2022. In recent years, his work has been shown in several group and solo exhibitions. His solo exhibition „Drown in Dreams“ is currently running at the Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden.
Enya Burger (b. 1996, Düsseldorf, Germany) graduated from Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the class of Prof. Gregor Schneider in 2024. Previously she received the master title from Prof. Marcel Odenbach. Burger’s practice spans video, immersive sculptures, and installations. Her work draws from personal experiences of being a queer woman, as well as theoretical discourse in the natural and social sciences. Burger has exhibited across Germany and received numerous prizes such as the 78. Internationaler Bergischer Kunstpreis.
Judith Dean (b. 1965, Billericay, UK) is a London-based artist working across media such as installation, sculpture, performance, video, and painting. She studied Fine Art at Wimbledon School of Art (1988) and at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (1993). In her paintings, Dean encourages viewers to consider how perspective, authorship, and the act of looking are not neutral processes but deeply conditioned by context, technology, and the subconscious mind. Dean has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, with at least 4 solo shows and 15 group exhibitions over the last 28 years. In 2005, she was awarded the Jerwood Sculpture Prize.
Merav Kamel (b. 1988, Israel) and Halil Balabin (b. 1987, Israel) have been working together since 2012. They both studied Fine Arts at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (2012, 2014). The Tel Avivbased duo has collaborated on a diverse body of work that spans various technique and media such as hand-sewn figures, drawing, painting, sculpture, and site-specific installation. Kamel and Balabin had numerous solo and group exhibitions in countries like Israel, Germany and the US. They have received prizes like the Beatrice S. Kolliner Award for Young Israeli Artists. Their work is included in many public and private collections such as the Philara collection, the Carry and Dan Bronner collection and the Ann and Ari Rosenblatt collection.
Kolja Kärtner Sainz (b. 1998, Germany) is a painter based in Leipzig, where he is currently pursuing his Fine Art degree at the HGB Leipzig. In his work, Kolja Kärtner Sainz seeks an ideal intermediate state where representation and abstraction can coexist. Working with oil and ink on many layers, he deeply explores speculative states of possibility, merging the organic, the technical, and the digital. Alongside solo shows in Paris, London and Milan his work has been featured in group shows with galleries in New York, Seoul, Beijing and Germany.
In our hyper-productive, success-driven society, planning ahead is often seen as essential. A quick Google search reveals countless headlines urging us to always be prepared: “The most important thing is to have a plan” or “Why you should definitely have a ‘Plan B.’”. Brad Pitt shows us just how far a good Plan B can take you.
Our obsession with planning runs deep, especially in Western societies, where planning structures our lives down to the finest detail. From planning our daily routines to charting out larger life goals like five-year career plans and ten-year financial strategies: People are constantly striving to maintain control over the future. Of course, structure is important. It helps us navigate our lives and accomplish what we want. However, there is a great deal of value in embracing “the no plan plan.” Sometimes, the best course of action for ourselves and for art, the Croatian artist Mladen Stilinović argues, is to resist the pressures of productivity, promotion, and competition – the systems that constantly measure who’s first and who’s next.
the no plan plan invites us to rethink the way we move through life. It’s a call to slow down, to loosen our grip on the future, and to find moments of stillness and spontaneity in the present. It’s about embracing the possibility that, sometimes, the best things happen when we least expect them—when there’s no plan at all.
The exhibition presents works by Neven Allgeier, Enya Burger, Judith Dean, Merav Kamel & Halil Balabin, and Kolja Kärtner Sainz. Through various media, these artists offer different perspectives on personal and collective experiences in today’s world, touching on issues like gender, power, and identity.
– text by Merit Zimmermann
info@jvdw.gallery
+49 211 868 1703
Schirmerstrasse 61
Backyard
40211 Duesseldorf
Germany
info@jvdw.gallery
+49 211 868 1703
Schirmerstrasse 61
Backyard
40211 Duesseldorf
Germany