Dr. Dietmar Werchan, born in 1941, is a retired pharmacist who lives in Charlottenburg and the Uckermark. He previously worked in a scientific profession that required a precise approach but allowed for no artistic freedom. That creativity is now finding its own path in a new field of endeavor: the creation of surrealist objects and material-based artworks.

The elements used for this are ordinary and unassuming, often found objects from nature, toys and tools, and everyday urban items. Werchan practices his very specific form of artistic recycling or purpose-free bricolage. This revaluation or poetic charging of supposedly worthless or defective objects transports the individual parts into a new state of being, namely that of a self-sufficient work of art. His craftsmanship and talent for discovery breathe new life into loose objects, eliciting a language of their own and allowing them to tell historical, fairy-tale-like, or fantastical stories—sometimes a bit eerie or ironic, but always imbued with subtle humor.

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He draws out a poetic quality from worthless flotsam, old toys, and worn-out utensils through surprising connections and combinations of natural materials, pharmaceutical products, and industrial goods. He borrows this approach from the artistic practices of the Surrealists. His primary concern is not relentless psychological probing; rather, the aura of the—seemingly worthless—materials is subtly enhanced and artfully exaggerated, much like the object boxes of Joseph Cornell. Some of his creations (or creatures) of repurposing develop an unexpected life of their own as participants in mysterious rituals—like totems, religious relics, cult objects, militaria, theater props—drawn from a cabinet of curiosities, an unknown fairy tale, or a chapter of German-German history.

These mostly small-scale works are not created in a spacious sculptor’s studio, but in a tiny craft room—more a cell than a workshop—where Werchan not only skillfully repairs broken objects but also transforms dead matter into independent beings, breathing life into them just as the woodcarver once did with his wooden figure Pinocchio.

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For this exhibition, “Verfundstücktes”—a term he coined himself—Dietmar Werchan brings two dozen of his works out of the intimate setting where they were created and onto an open stage, weaving them together in a lighthearted choreography and allowing them to interact with the audience.
Let’s let ourselves be drawn into their lively, dynamic dance!

Karin Barth

Exhibition at the a.i.p.galerie artists in progress / project space

Exhibition announcement: FEIN - Paper works

Opening reception: Friday, January 23, 2026, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Exhibition dates: January 24 to March 24, 2026
Artistic works by: Oliver Völkening, Marius D. Kettler, Dolores Flores, Hu Xiang