Mevlana Lipp: Beneath an Empty Sky

Capsule is pleased to present Beneath an Empty Sky, a solo exhibition by Mevlana Lipp (b. 1989, Cologne, Germany; lives and works in Cologne).

In this new body of work, Lipp turns to painting on canvas as a means of both expanding and recontextualizing a visual language developed over time. His earlier works featured wood reliefs depicting flora and fauna, suspended within undefined, timeless spaces of dark velvet backdrops. In the present exhibition, these environments undergo a marked transformation. The once void, depthless backdrops give way to vast, barren landscapes, suggesting a shift from suspension to emplacement. Within these newly articulated spaces, Lipp’s imaginative beings appear to anchor themselves in points of origin or dwelling. They inhabit, shape, and transform these primordial terrains—what was once isolated becomes situated; what once floated takes root.

Evolving from the artist’s longstanding inquiry, the new works continue to engage with themes of intimacy, sexuality, vulnerability, beauty, and connection. The figures serve as metaphors for human interaction, proposing a mode of communication that is instinctive and unmediated, operating beyond language and conscious thought. The viewer is convinced that these beings are capable of human emotion. An anthurium droops by the lake, melted in searing crimson red (Heat, 2026). Vines from opposite sides of the hills stretch across the ridge to embrace and entwine as one (Hug, 2026). In a depthless pool of ebony, a tentacled lemna gazes toward the night sky, cradling a shimmering pearl–as if it were its own moon (Reef, 2026). As these softly luminescent figures unfurl within sparse environments, they introduce the possibility of connection and growth, even within landscapes that appear austere and inhospitable.

Such landscapes evoke a world at its beginning or in the aftermath of an ending. This ambiguity—poised between emergence and desolation—reflects a broader sensibility shaped by the present moment, marked by disorientation, uncertainty, and a diffuse sense of powerlessness. However, what emerges across the exhibition is a quiet persistence. While Lipp’s earlier works often feature exquisitely rendered, richly textured plants in clusters, the works on view unexceptionally focus on singular subjects in solitude, depicted with restrained brushwork. The viewer’s attention thus shifts from the exuberance of the plants themselves to the conditions in which life persistes and thrives. Within these vast, desolate landscapes, varying forms of life glow with an enchanted luminosity. However fragile they may appear, the figures carry an inherent vitality that enables them to endure, connect, and shine. The paintings convey a cautious optimism: even within emptiness or adversity, the potential for life remains—capable of taking form, asserting itself, and moving forward.