In Two Rooms, Christopher von Gruben and Seunghee Shin inhabit separate spaces that reflect two distinct worlds of experience. Christopher’s dynamic, narrative-driven figurative paintings unfold as a swirl of daze and color, revealing scenes charged with raw emotion. In contrast, Seunghee’s work embodies a contemplative practice, capturing a resonance between form and the formless within her blue landscapes.

Their works appear distinct, yet within this contrast arises a subtle dialogue — emotion and contemplation, impulse and gravity, discord and resonance. Two Rooms invites viewers to wander between these contrasting spaces and find their own connections in the distance between.

 

Seunghee Shin (b.1972 in South Korea, lives and works in Frankfurt) 

Seunghee Shin is a Frankfurt-based artist whose work explores the intersection between the materiality of nature and human intervention. Rooted in the discipline of Ceramic Art, Shin extends her tactile sensibility into painting by priming canvases with earth, stone powder, and sand. Working with a singular cobalt-based palette, she employs gravity as a primary creative force, allowing pigments to find their own trajectory. In this state of ‘Panta Rhei’ (everything flows), she visualizes invisible energies—gravity, velocity, and the "breath of the soul." Through a performative and meditative process, she creates multilayered “blue landscapes” that resonate as spaces of spiritual depth, suspended between form and formlessness.

After studying ceramic arts in Seoul, Shin completed her diploma at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences. Her artistic merit has been recognized through competitive grants and selections from the Gangdong Foundation for Arts & Culture, the Korea Ceramic Foundation, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Netherlands. Her work is held in prominent collections, including the Yanggu Porcelain Museum and Kim & Chang Law Firm. Most recently, Shin was selected for the 2025 Taunus Kunst Triennale and exhibited at the Stadtmuseum Hofheim.

 

Christopher von Gruben (b.2000 in Bayern, lives and works in Berlin) 

Christopher von Gruben documents the search for raw emotion through the lens of urban nightlife and escapism. His paintings unfold as a "swirl of daze and color," where figures and atmospheres blur to mirror the loss of clarity within the intoxicated moment. Underlining this chaotic intensity are his drawings, which offer an intimate look into the artist’s constant inner contradiction—the fear of existing, the clash between ego and genius, and the desire to be normal yet distinct. These drawings act as a slow, narrative wave beneath the powerful energy of the paintings, inviting viewers to dive deeper into the complex reality behind the spectacle.

Christopher von Gruben currently studies painting at the Weissensee Academy of Art Berlin. With a background in Art History from TU Berlin, von Gruben bridges classical influences with a modern, humorous approach to storytelling. He has recently established his presence through selections for the Château de Bouillancourt residency in France (2025) and Academy Positions Berlin (2025), alongside exhibitions in Berlin and internationally.