Jan Scharrelmann (b. 1975) is an established mid-career contemporary artist who lives and works in Cologne, Germany. He studied at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste under the guidance of renowned German sculptor Meuser. In 1999 he was awarded the Erasmus scholarship to further his studies at the Königliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Den Haag. His Post Graduate education was completed at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under the guidance of contemporary German sculptor Georg Herold.
His works engage both their own transience and phenomena of astrophysics, nimbly drawing on sources including Science Fiction as well as contemporary music and everyday culture. The volumes with their alchemically iridescent colors assume shapes ranging from the monolithic to the polygonal; some are hollow, while others seem to consist of condensed matter. Areas of color bleeding out can be read as changing states of aggregation— from foggy fumes across mineral grains to dull compounds and others that have a metallic luster. Against the forces of gravity, the Cologne-based sculptor mobilizes the signaling effect of color, which sucks the beholder into its luminescent interior.