Simon Surjasentana's career stages are anything but straightforward. Initially, he completed an apprenticeship as a commercial assistant, but quickly realised that his everyday working life would not make him happy in the long run. So he took a »time out« and did a voluntary social year in hospital. When he came into contact with a patient requiring artificial respiration, he decided to do further education as a nurse. But it didn't stop at the nursing profession either. In 2016, the artist began his Fine Art studies at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, but did not give up his job as a nurse and continues to work in the intensive care unit.

»I photograph my everyday life on the ward and process the impressions in my paintings,« Surjasentana describes. »I have been working like this for quite some time. The fact that my paintings have a greater relevance now that we are living in times of the pandemic naturally pleases me, even though there are tragic fates behind the scenes captured.« In his works, the artist provides insights into what goes on behind closed doors, the atmosphere in those special rooms in the intensive care unit. The paintings show the patients, the nurses and the doctors – in their most vulnerable and intimate moments.

Asked about the privacy of the patients, Surjasentana explains: »The figures are strongly abstracted, the colours are sometimes roughly applied. The rooms and machines are hinted at, but often remain shadowy. My colleagues were irritated at first, but now they are all very happy as soon as a new work is finished. What is important for me personally is the process of painting, not the depiction of a reality.«

In the context of the Corona pandemic, various media became aware of Surjasentana's unusual themes and reported on the »painting nurse«. In the solo exhibition »Früh/Spät/Nacht« (Early/Late/Night) in the Thuringian Parliament, the public can now view his paintings, some of which are in large format.

Simon Surjasentana is a diploma student with Jana Gunstheimer, Professorship "Experimental Painting and Drawing", and also studied with Prof. Björn Dahlem and Guest Scientist Simon Wachsmuth at the Faculty of Art and Design at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

»Früh/Spät/Nacht« - Exhibition with oil paintings by Simon Surjasenana.
Exhibition duration:
6 July to 7 August 2022

Vernissage in the presence of the President of the State Parliament Birgit Keller:
Wednesday, 6 July 2022, 5 p.m.

Exhibition location:
Thuringian State Parliament
Jürgen-Fuchs-Strasse 1
99096 Erfurt

Exhibitions in the Thuringian Parliament can be visited daily. Admission is free. For further information on the exhibition, please contact the visitors' service of the Landtag by e-mail to ausstellungen[at]thueringer-landtag.de.

If you have any questions, please contact Romy Weinhold, Press and Public Relations Officer at the Faculty of Art and Design, by telephone on +49 / 36 43 / 58 11 86 or by e-mail to romy.weinhold@uni-weimar.de.