Oliver Plehn - Poeta

Charcoal and gouache painting on a canvas measuring 100 cm x 81 cm, created in 2019, exhibited among other works at Madrid-Barajas airport in 2019/2020. Signed with a black label at the lower right. Comes with a certificate of authenticity, in impeccable condition. The artwork is shipped rolled in a tube.

Original and striking portrait of the legendary Irish poet, playwright, and irreverent figure Brendan Behan (1923-1964), one of the great icons of 20th-century literature. Author of masterworks such as Borstal Boy, The Quare Fellow, and The Hostage, Behan embodied the rebel, witty, and tormented spirit of republican and Dublin Ireland. This piece masterfully captures his penetrating gaze, raw expression, and human complexity: the expressive charcoal strokes combined with subtle gouache veils in greens and earthy ochres evoke the bohemian and turbulent atmosphere of his life. A large-format work that conveys emotional intensity and powerful physical presence.
Unique, signed piece in excellent condition. Ideal for collections of Irish literature, literary portraits, expressive contemporary art, or pieces with historical and biographical significance.
An exceptional opportunity to acquire an artistic homage to one of Ireland’s most charismatic and controversial writers!

MIRRORS OF THE SELF: PORTRAITS OF FRAGILITY AND STRENGTH
By Antonio Sánchez. Director and curator of 1819 Art Gallery
The collection we are dealing with is an emotional compendium of works that explore the depth of the human condition through portraits and figures loaded with symbolism. These pieces weave together a visual narrative that unfolds a palette of subtle and often somber colors, evoking introspective and contemplative moods. Technical prowess reveals not only mastery of the medium but also an intense emotional connection between the artist and his subjects, each bearing a silent yet palpable story.
Textures and techniques range from softly diffused to aggressively marked, reflecting the diversity of human emotions and the complexity of our experiences. The strokes, whether firm or tremulous, along with the interplay of light and shadow, build an atmosphere that transcends the visual to touch the viewer’s soul.
The work oscillates between literal representation and abstraction, allowing the viewer’s mind to fill the gaps, encouraging deeper engagement. The intentional use of discordant or unexpected elements, such as a knife piercing a figure’s face, challenges our perceptions and provokes introspective reflection on what it means to be human in times of emotional and social upheaval.
The collection as a whole serves as a mirror of the fragility and strength inherent to the human spirit. Each piece, while unique in its expression, contributes to a broader dialogue about resilience and vulnerability. The choice of subjects, from human figures to representations of animals, each imbued with deep emotionality, amplifies this dialogue, suggesting universality in our emotional experiences.
This set of works, beyond being simply a display of technical skill, testifies to the power of art to move, connect, and question. The collection not only captures the aesthetic beauty of its subjects but also acts as a catalyst for personal and collective exploration of deep and often contradictory emotions. In so doing, these works invite viewers to confront the unknown within themselves and in the world around them, offering space for recognition and catharsis.

Artist Biography – Oliver Plehn
The painter and draftsman Oliver Plehn’s work is characterized by expressive representations of the human and animal body. Faces and bodies form the center of his artistic universe: powerful, sensitive, and filled with psychological depth. From a young age, the images of German Expressionists influenced him, whose emotional immediacy and formal freedom remain a reference in his artistic language to this day.
From his youth, Plehn decided to be an artist and to maintain creative independence. In addition to studying painting and drawing in art schools, he pursued studies in natural sciences, which provided professional independence and artistic freedom. In the early 1990s, a grant in the field of quantum mechanics brought him to Madrid.
Oliver Plehn lives with his wife and two daughters in Madrid’s Carabanchel Alto district.
Artistic Statement
My work arises from the impulse to understand human existence in its deepest and most contradictory interior. Throughout my career, I have explored portraiture as a means to reveal not only what is visible, but also what is hidden: repressed emotions, scars of the soul, gestures of silent resistance. I paint from fragility, from that liminal space where pain and beauty coexist without permission.
I am not interested in capturing perfect faces, but presence, the presence that speaks of what remains unsaid. I am drawn to silences, expressions that carry stories, bodies that vibrate with lived experience. Each work is, for me, an attempt at dialogue with the unknown, that inner territory from which we often try to escape.
My goal as an artist is to create images that are not only observed but that interrogate the viewer. I want them to act as mirrors where one can find something of oneself, even in unease or discomfort. I work in a figurative manner, yes, but I seek in it an openness to mystery, to doubt, to the emotion that finds no words.
I feel that art has the power to heal, reveal, and accompany. In this sense, my practice is also a form of care: for myself and for all those who approach these images with an open heart.
Exhibitions
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Online presence on Artsy
• Online presence on Flecha.es
• Online presence on 1819 Art Gallery
• “Aqua versus Terra,” September 1–30, 2025, Madrid
• “Madrid Hidden,” June 1 to July 15, 2025, Madrid
• “The Gods of Muay Thai and a Strange One,” December 1, 2022 – January 6, 2023, Madrid
• Exhibition at Yale School of Art, March 2021
• Solo exhibition at Madrid-Barajas International Airport "Faces of the World," December 30, 2019 – February 7, 2020
• Solo exhibition "The Passion of the Christ" at Friedenskirche, the German church, Calle Serrano 6, Madrid
• Exhibition at United Artist Fair 2019 at the Casa de Cantabria, Madrid, February 2019
• Painting exhibitions on Calle Serrano, Madrid, December 2018 – February 2019
• Solo painting exhibition in Madrid, Spain, November 2018
• Painting exhibition in Madrid, Spain, Calle Serrano, November 2016 – January 2017