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In the Hamburg art scene he is an outstanding character, easily recognized from a distance: Jan Holtmann, the man with the extravagant hats – colorful, imaginative and daring, yet rather unusable for everyday use and, above all, much too bad. For these hats are unique pieces, small works of art, created by renowned artists – including stars of the scene such as Jonathan Meese and Ulla von Brandenburg.
Jan Holtmann likes to present these headdresses in public – also at vernissages and at artists’ parties. The hats are part of an art project of the noroomgallery he invented – and the name is to be taken literally: It is a gallery without its own space. More than 40 artists are now willingly participating in the noroom gallerist’s project entitled Hamburger Hutladen (Hamburg Hat Shop) – although Jan Holtmann sees himself as a media artist.
All these artistic creations have been temporarily given a permanent place in a room (“temporary storage form”), right in the Hamburg Kunsthalle. There the hats were an eye-catcher for the surprised visitors of the Galerie der Gegenwart until March 31.
How did the hats get to the Kunsthalle?
By a happy coincidence, the Kunsthalle provided a place where Jan Holtmann could temporarily present the ever-growing number of hats. The work of an artist in the Kunsthalle had just been loaned out for another exhibition. So curator Dr. Brigitte Kölle was able to offer the free space temporarily.
A surprisingly large number of visitors and interested people showed up for the vernissage. Jan Holtmann reports that it had already become a routine for him to enter the Kunsthalle through a tried-and-true back entrance to grab a hat from the shelf, which he then carried out in Hamburg. Jan Holtmann: “I’ve already been approached by people on the street who said, “I know that hat from the Kunsthalle!”
The artists willingly went along with it. “Jonathan Meese has already created ten hats, and he donated one hat,” says Holtmann. Originally there were to be 33 hats, but now there are well over 40. The artists include names such as Anik Lazar, Jan Köchermann, Prof. Michael Lingner, Boran Burchhardt and Verena Issel. Holtmann was able to reassure some artists whose hats have electrical finesse: “It also works without electricity.”
“Finally, a good hat!”
“The hat store is something like a belly store on the head,” says Jan Holtmann. For some, his appearance is surprising. “When Jan appears with such a hat, it can initially irritate and unsettle,” finds Brigitte Kölle, the curator. Then the artist was all the more pleased when a man on Düsseldorf’s Kö called out to him, “Finally, a good hat!”
The Hamburg Hat Store of Jan Holtmann
The most frequently asked question is: “Where is the Hamburg Hat Store?”. The answer: “You are standing in the middle of the Hamburg Hat Shop”. Whereby these hats are also for sale. In fact, conversations and a lively exchange about the art project arose again and again.
In the meantime, the action has come to an end. Are you interested in one of the hats or would you simply like to contact Jan Holtmann?
Comments by Kay Dethlefs