SETAREH X is excited to announce Honey Pot, an upcoming solo exhibition of Jonathan Kraus, an emerging talent from Berlin. The exhibition showcases Kraus’s latest work, where he skillfully reimagines familiar subjects from classical art, bringing them into a contemporary realm rich with humor, wit, and subversion.

In borrowing iconic figures, animals, and objects from well-known masterpieces and recontextualizing them, he creates a new image that oscillates between homage and playful critique. By placing these recognizable motifs into a different time, space, and dialogue, Kraus morphs the original image‘s intention, infusing each piece with a subtle satire. He takes on the referential image to engage with the art historical canon, relying on the resonance of the art-historical canon but also expanding upon it, generating a layered conversation between past and present, continuity and disruption. Classical images meet pop culture in a unique approach that highlights Kraus’s fascination with art history while simultaneously questioning its traditional boundaries. Honey Pot presents bold, intellectual, and sincere artworks that explore the authority and structure of the canon, both celebrating and playing with its conventions, and highlighting art’s ability to transcend eras.

A graduate of HfBK Dresden (2014) and HGB Leipzig (2018), Jonathan Kraus’s talent has been recognized with the Leuchtturm1917 Award in 2021, and he was a candidate for the BBA Artist Prize and the Eb-Dietzsch-Kunstpreis. His work has been featured in several exhibitions across Germany while living and working in Berlin.