Art in the greenhouse

An extraordinary art presentation will take place on September 6: In Langenfeld, located between Düsseldorf and Leverkusen, the first »Art Night« will take place in the greenhouses of a former nursery. The art exhibition is only open on this evening from 5 to 10 pm. Three artists, Jeannine Arendt, Conny Brambach and Annette Velten, who is taking part in the Art.Salon artist program, will be showing selected works. They were allowed to choose their works freely. Velten, who usually presents more recent works at exhibitions, chose around 15 paintings for this special occasion, which represent a cross-section of her oeuvre. Inspired by organic structures, impressions of landscapes and light reflections in nature, Velten incorporates her observations into her creative process, which is characterized by many layers of paint or color overlays.

Doris Mebus-Kerklaan organizes the »Art Night« in Langenfeld. She was the owner of the nursery »Das Treibhaus«, which closed in 2022. In addition to flowers, the nursery also offered decorative items and home accessories in a cozy atmosphere and also hosted various events several times a year, including art exhibitions. Annette Velten had already taken part in several solo and group exhibitions in the greenhouse before the »Art Night«. The artist worked in a management consultancy for a long time before devoting herself entirely to painting in 2009. Her works were exhibited at the international art fair art3f Luxembourg in 2020 and the Discovery Art Fair Cologne in 2023, among others.

We spoke to Annette Velten about her participation in the »Art Night«.

Hello, Ms. Velten. You have had several solo and group exhibitions in the greenhouse in recent years. What fascinates you about this special exhibition venue?

Presenting pictures in an environment without walls, as is the case in a greenhouse, is a challenge, but also exciting. With the exhibitions in the greenhouse, you always had to be inventive about where to position the pictures and, above all, how to mount them. But they were always particularly nice exhibitions for me because the customers of the nursery, most of whom would never visit a gallery, were able to come into contact with art and experience painted pictures in a special and at the same time very relaxed atmosphere without any »fear of contact«. I always thought it was great to come into contact with people in this way who wouldn't go to an art fair or a gallery. I have always found it enriching to bring people closer to art in this uncomplicated way and have often benefited from the feedback from these people for my artistic work when the response was good.

You took part in an exhibition in the greenhouse for the first time in 2013. How were the art exhibitions received by visitors in the past and what developments have taken place to date?

Initially, some visitors were surprised by the greenhouse because they had visited the nursery as such and didn't even know that there was an art exhibition in the greenhouse. In subsequent years, the exhibitions, which took place once or twice a year, became so well established that many people came specifically to the art exhibitions. There was always a small annual overview of the events in the greenhouse, which was passed on to customers, and the art exhibitions have become a permanent fixture in the nursery's annual program.

What has been the shift in focus of your work since then?

Thematically, my work hasn't really changed over the years. Nature with all its shapes and colors is still my greatest source of inspiration, even if there are occasional excursions on the subject of »people« or »people in motion«. But I now paint much more with oil paints, so that my works have become even more expressive in their colorfulness.

The concept of an »art exhibition for one evening« is very unusual. What were your first thoughts when you were invited to take part?

I very much regretted the closure of the nursery, as I was a customer there myself. It was personal reasons that prompted Mrs. Mebus-Kerklaan to give up her nursery, which she had always put her heart and soul into. When she told me about the idea of an art night at the end of 2023 and asked me whether I could imagine taking part, I didn't have to think about it for a second. I was immediately delighted to be able to present my work once again in this unusual setting. And who knows, depending on the response, this might not be the last »Art Night« in the greenhouse!

Which of your exhibited paintings – whether older or newer – are you most eager to receive feedback and reactions from visitors?

As an artist you always hope to develop further, to »get better«, whatever that means in painting. In any case, that's what I hope for my artistic development. As I already showed new works of mine in April this year in a small gallery in Cologne called »SichtArten«, which means that I have already received feedback on newer works, I am very curious to see how my older works will be received by visitors in comparison to the newer ones.

Thank you very much for the interview.