Jan Zöller’s work reflects topics and reality experiences of a young artist. Perceived romantic or transfigured questions about the future, visions and career become guiding themes – devoid of irony. Visits to pubs and exhibition openings or the purchase of new shoes appear as motifs on painted canvases. Other works contain allegories of friendly collaboration or social experience: meeting someone at a bar, the sharing of a cigarette as well as traditional meeting places like public wells and swimming baths. Zöller’s artistic practice incorporates not only painted canvases but also performance, sculpture and installation. These practices constitute solidarity, steadily supported by Zöller’s use of social codes and tokens, like rain drops, trees, birds, legs, hammers and fountains in his work. In his titles, Jan Zöller adopts selected song lyrics, proverbs and well-intentioned advice. He then slightly changes their wording whereby they become more serious or humorous – and more fitting to the artist’s own means of expression. Comments on creativity and inspiration, failure and success of artistic work form another constant in the artist’s work. Therefore, Zöller’s practice ties in with the tradition of painting as the most subjective media, but also transfers the principle of relation to the other levels of his artistic expression.