How do you discover new galleries, spaces, and exhibitions when you have only an hour between appointments? You likely do what I did: search Google Maps for „art gallery“ and see where the pin drops.
That is exactly what happened last Saturday while I was strolling along the Ku’damm, keen to explore something new.
I was already familiar with the name Galerie Max Hetzler —notably from their impressive booth at last year’s Art Basel Paris—but I had never visited their physical space in person. Finding myself in the right place at the right time, I stepped into Bleibtreustraße 45 to experience Jake Longstreth’s solo exhibition Where We’re Going We Need Roads.
Frequent gallery visitors will relate to that weird feeling of being the only person in those vast, white-walled rooms. It can feel almost lonely, save for the presence of the front-office assistants who rarely break the silence.
Yet, sometimes this solitude is exactly what is required to devote one’s full attention to the works. Since my visit was spontaneous and I had no prior knowledge of the artist, I simply let the exhibition wash over me, experiencing the art without any preconceived notions.
The reason I am including a review of this solo exhibition on my website is that Jake Longstreth’s large-scale paintings evoked deeply personal, emotional memories.
I am certain that the artist did not intend to unlock these specific recollections. After all, the landscapes and roadways depicted are rooted in the distinct topography of California—a region quite different from the one that surfaced in my mind as I stood before the canvases.
Standing in front of those canvases, I was instantly catapulted back to my travels through Southeast Asia—specifically Thailand and Malaysia.
Since 2022, I have spent a total of ten months in the region. One of my core memories is riding along the endless, winding roads of islands like Koh Phangan or Koh Lanta, watching them carve a path through the dense jungle while offering magnificent views of the rolling hills. The same sensation returned to me as I recalled taking the train through the Malaysian countryside, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to George Town.
Even though I now know I am looking at California, I can still deeply relate to the nature, the vast distances, and the lonely roads depicted—simply because I have encountered them elsewhere in the world.
While not every painting in the show spoke to me this way, two or three specifically evoked a sense of wanderlust, making me long to return to places I’ve already been and relive a time I truly enjoyed.
The solo exhibition „WHERE WE’RE GOING WE NEEED ROADS“ by JAKE LONGSTRETH can be visited until April 25, 2026 at GALERIE MAX HETZLER, Bleibtreustraße 45, BERLIN.
I visited the exhibition myself on Saturday, March 28, 2026