In its fourth and final solo exhibition of the year at the newly opened Frankfurt space, Galerie 3AP presents for the first time a solo show of the artist Jacqueline Hen, focusing in particular on the comprehensive presentation of her H-Series. Hen, an emerging German light artist, studied at the Universität der Künste Berlin and at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and has worked in the studio of Thomás Saraceno. Her practice bridges light installation, painting, and spatial experiments, generating layered perceptual experiences.

The works are built on a light-reflective and color-shifting ground, layered with impasto paint to create a relief-like depth. Depending on the viewer’s perspective, the light, and the time of day, the surfaces appear in shades of grey, blue, red, or green, occasionally revealing a vibrant interplay of colors. The technique subtly references historical painting processes, including the use of squeegee tools, whereby color, surface, and texture engage in a dynamic and complex dialogue.

The hanging arrangement is guided by natural laws such as the Golden Ratio and simultaneously evokes cosmological phenomena: from spiral galaxies to black holes and the event horizon. Through the deliberate selection of formats, proportions, and positions, a tension emerges between scale, space, and perception, allowing viewers to explore the spatial effect of the installation and experience the subtle interplay of light, surface, and perspective.

The exhibition title, “I saw a rainbow at midnight … At night, all cats are grey” functions as a programmatic frame. It juxtaposes two modes of perception: the unexpected and visible in the darkness (the rainbow) and the leveling of differences in darkness (grey cats). Like the H-Series, which oscillates between color and grey as well as between presence and absence, the title evokes the continual interplay of differentiation and uniformity, of visibility and invisibility, inviting reflection on what it means to perceive.

The exhibition challenges viewers to question perception and reality. What do we see when color and form shift? How does the effect of the works change when light and shadow modulate the surface? The H-Series encourages repeated viewing, functioning as a poetic play with differentiation and the relationship between presence and absence. By deliberately avoiding focused lighting, the artist makes light, shadow, and the rhythms of the day an integral part of the experience. The result is a space in which perception itself is interrogated, establishing a dialogic relationship between work, space, and viewer, where differences fade yet remain perceptible in new ways.

Curated by Aileen Treusch.

The exhibition opens on 29 November 2025, from 2–4 PM, with the artist in attendance. The Air Shelter will also open starting 3 December, featuring an installation by the artist. Visits outside regular opening hours by appointment.

Opening hours:
Friday & Saturday: 12-3 PM (until 06 December)

Tuesday & Thursday, 4–7 PM (beginning 09 December)

Special Dates:

03 December, 4–7 PM (Wednesday, artist in attendance)

05 December, 4–7 PM (Friday, artist in attendance)

Additional artist attendance dates will be shared in due course

Closed for Winter Break:
20 December, 2025 – 11 January, 2026

January Highlights:

House of Galleries (22–25 January 2026, artist in attendance)

Closing & New Year Reception (31 January 2026, artist in attendance)

Credit: Exhibition view „I saw a rainbow at midnight … At night, all cats are grey“ – Jacqueline Hen, Photos: Joëlle Pidoux. Courtesy: the artist and Galerie 3AP/Frankfurt a.M.