Oliver Plehn - Hamlet XL

The Hamlet XL painting was created with oil on a 100 cm by 81 cm canvas in the year 2026. Signed with a black marker at the bottom left. Comes with a certificate of authenticity, in impeccable condition. The work is shipped rolled inside a tube.
This work represents a powerful contemporary interpretation of the iconic “To be or not to be” scene from Shakespeare’s tragedy. A medieval knight with a helmet and cape holds Yorick’s skull between his hands, in a gesture charged with existential reflection and melancholy.
The artist has chosen an abstract background in intense yellow tones that envelops the figure, creating a strong contrast with the metallic gray of the helmet and the skull. This monochromatic palette in ochres and yellows adds drama and timelessness to the composition, transforming the classical scene into an image that is almost visionary and symbolic.
The expressive and gestural brushwork conveys the emotional intensity of the moment: the confrontation between man and death, the fragility of life, and the big philosophical questions about existence. The helmet, which hides the character’s face, adds a mysterious and universal touch, allowing the viewer to identify with Hamlet’s eternal dilemma.
A work with great visual presence and thematic depth, that dialogues with universal literature through a contemporary and personal pictorial language.

MIRRORS OF THE BEING: PORTRAITS OF FRAGILITY AND STRENGTH
By Antonio Sánchez. Director and curator of 1819 Art Gallery
The collection we are dealing with is an emotive compendium of works that explore the depth of the human condition through portraits and figures loaded with symbolism. These pieces intertwine with 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, together with the interaction 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 cutting through a figure’s face, challenges our perceptions and provokes an introspective reflection on what it means to be human in times of emotional and social tumult.
The collection as a whole serves as a mirror of the fragility and strength inherent in the human spirit. Each piece, while remaining 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 emotivity, amplifies this dialogue, suggesting a universality in our emotional experiences.
This set of works, beyond merely being a display of technical skill, is a testament to art’s power 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 doing so, 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 work of the German painter and draftsman Oliver Plehn is characterized by expressive representations of the human and animal body. Faces and bodies form the center of his artistic universe: powerful, sensitive, and full of psychological depth. From childhood, images of German expressionists influenced him, whose emotional immediacy and formal freedom remain a reference in his artistic language to this day.
From a young age, Plehn chose to be an artist and to maintain his creative independence. In addition to studying painting and drawing at art schools, he studied natural sciences, which allowed him professional independence and artistic freedom. At the beginning of the 1990s, a grant in the field of quantum mechanics took him to Madrid.
Oliver Plehn lives with his wife and two daughters in the Madrid district of Carabanchel Alto.

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 uninvited.
I’m not interested in capturing perfect faces, but presence, that which speaks of what remains unsaid. I am drawn to silences, looks 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 also questioned by the viewer. I want them to act as mirrors in which one can find something of oneself, even in unease or discomfort. I work figuratively, yes, but I seek in it an opening to mystery, to doubt, to emotion that cannot be put into words.
I feel that art has the power to heal, to reveal, and to 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
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Online presence on Flecha.es
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Online presence on 1819 Art Gallery
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“Aqua versus Terra”, September 1–30, 2025, Madrid
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“Madrid Hidden”, June 1 to July 15, 2025, Madrid
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“The Gods of Muay Thai and a Strange One”, December 1, 2022 – January 6, 2023, Madrid
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Exhibition at Yale School of Art, March 2021
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Solo show at Madrid-Barajas International Airport “Faces of the World”, December 30, 2019 – February 7, 2020
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Solo exhibition “The Passion of the Christ” at the Friedenskirche German church, Calle Serrano 6, Madrid
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Exhibition at United Artist Fair 2019 at the Casa de Cantabria, Madrid, February 2019
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Painters’ exhibition on Calle Serrano, Madrid, December 2018 – February 2019
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Solo painting exhibition in Madrid, Spain, November 2018
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Painting exhibition in Madrid, Spain, Calle Serrano, November 2016 – January 2017