Heinz Janzen (*1932 – †2012)

“Painting means liberation”

Heinz Janzen’s artistic path was shaped by a search for freedom. Born in Goslar, he initially pursued a career as a painter, decorator, and later as a chemist, before dedicating himself entirely to painting from 1985 onwards. As a self-taught artist, he explored the world of art beyond academic constraints - for him, this step was an act of personal liberation and the beginning of a deep engagement with color and form.

Between Figuration and Abstraction

Guided by the conviction “In the beginning was the image,” Janzen painted truths as he felt them. His work spans a range from expressive, expressionistic portraits to the complete dissolution of representation. In doing so, the painting process itself - the energetic application of paint and the work with the palette knife - became the central theme of his work.

The Viewer as Participant

Following Antoni Tàpies, Janzen understood his pictures as an invitation. For him, a work was only completed through the viewer’s imagination. His works are not mere depictions, but resonant spaces for one’s own thoughts and feelings that invite the viewer to active participation.

A Humanistic Stance

Janzen was a declared friend of humanity, whose creative output stood on a deep moral foundation. Shaped by his experiences as a witness to history, his worldview was formed by an unwavering rejection of injustice and totalitarian ideologies. This humanistic conviction flowed as a quiet but constant guiding principle into his art. As an active member of the BBK and the group “Jakobo 90,” he shaped the art scene of his homeland; latterly he lived and worked in Bredelem.

Exhibitions & Presence

His works were displayed in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including in Hamburg, Trier, Hagen, Goslar, and in the French town of Arcachon. Today, they can be found in many private and public collections - as timeless testimonies to an artist who used color and form as a language for the ineffable.