Sprüth Magers presents Henni Alftan’s solo exhibition By the Skin of My Teeth in Berlin from September 12 to October 25, 2025, transforming the banality of everyday life into a strange tension on canvas. The title, drawn from an English idiom meaning narrowly escaping failure or barely succeeding, points to the subtle threshold in Alftan’s paintings: the ambiguous space between representation and abstraction, the ordinary and the extraordinary, calm and unease.
Alftan’s works masterfully employ scale, perspective, and texture to depict ordinary objects and scenes with intense visual economy. A pair of eyes hidden behind sunglasses, a watch on a wrist, a hand emerging from a glove, or a beam of light spilling beyond the canvas—all familiar details, yet their tight framing evokes an unsettling tranquility that keeps viewers on edge.
The exhibition includes a new series of drawings on colored paper, featuring meticulously arranged everyday objects like dominoes, keys, nails, and matches. These small-scale works invite viewers to look closer, amplifying the intimacy of observation.
In Alftan’s diptych Déjà-vu, the passage of time is felt across two canvases. In Pour (Déjà-vu), milk hovers at the edge of a glass, while in Flood, water overflows, sweeping cars away. These dualities engage the viewer’s memory, emphasizing that the paintings are not just images but also spaces and objects.
Alftan’s works connect to the traditions of still life and trompe-l’œil while referencing art history. In Overpass, Monet’s bridges or Hiroshige’s landscapes meet an empty, almost abstract highway. In Haircut, strands of hair about to be cut emerge almost sculpturally through the texture of paint. Alftan’s paintings question not meaning itself but the conditions of representation, inviting viewers to reflect on the boundaries of “seeing.”
Henni Alftan’s works reveal the unease within the everyday, transforming ordinary details into profound experiences. By the Skin of My Teeth offers a delicate meditation on the fragility of representation and the limits of painting.
📍 Sprüth Magers, Berlin
📅 September 12 – October 25, 2025
⏰ Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
