Bridging nature and transience through layered, expressive forms.

Jannis Kustak has been studying at the HAW since 2023 and is part of Christian Hahn’s painting class.

In his painting, Kustak engages intensively with nature, emphasizing the tension between transience and rebirth. He employs expressive, intentionally unnatural color palettes and clear contours, which give his work a striking, almost graphic effect.

His pieces oscillate between precision drawing and classical painting, as he utilizes both painterly depth and varied textures. A central component of his painting process is a base layer of acrylic paint that interacts with the subsequent layers of oil paint. This underlayer peeks through in certain areas, creating subtle ruptures and lending the images a dynamic surface movement. Kustak develops complex pictorial spaces inspired by bark textures, branching patterns, and organic structures—spaces that interlock and display both naturalistic and abstract qualities.

Exhibitions:

2024: Group exhibition "Epitaph"

2024: HAW Rundgang Finkenau, Hamburg

2025: HAW Rundgang Finkenau, Hamburg

2025: Hamburg Artist Art Market

2025: Berlin Artist Art Market

2026: OPEN PERSPECTIVES – Vielfalt Künstlerischer Lebensansichten, KULTURBUNKER, Bonn

2026: Death? Yes/No/Maybe A Hidden Variable, Berlin

2026: Solo Show: ÜBER HOLZ UNTERHOLZ, Hamburg

2026: Skm Community Exhibition – INNER LANDSCAPES, Leipzig