Jochen Mühlenbrink’s fogged realities

This isn’t wet tape on a mirror—though it might fool you at first glance. German artist Jochen Mühlenbrink masterfully blurs illusion and reality through a contemporary take on traditional trompe l’oeil painting. Using classical varnishing techniques, Mühlenbrink simulates the look of condensation on the glass, carefully adding hand-painted water droplets, wiped surfaces, and trompe l’oeil stickers and tape to create a hyperreal effect.

Mühlenbrink revisits the age-old motif of the canvas’s reverse side. But in his hands, this trope is given new life, embedded with vintage postcards and faux masking tape, anchoring the work in both past and present. Through his precise technique and conceptual layering, Mühlenbrink continues to challenge how we see—and what we think we see.