In his paintings, sculptures and installations, Jan Zöller (born in 1992 in Haslach, who lives and works in Karlsruhe) deals with the dichotomy between economic production and the spiritual, magical side of art. The artist’s book Ritual Believer provides an overview of a group of works called “Charcoal Paintings”, created between 2019 and 2023. In these paintings, charcoal is used to paint directly onto the unprimed canvas, which makes it impossible to touch up “mistakes”. Moreover, they largely dispense with colours and are comparatively reduced in analogy to Zöller’s otherwise very colour-intensive paintings. In addition to the motifs of birds and running legs typical of his work, writing and text are a crucial element of the “Charcoal Paintings”. This also includes the evidence that the titles of the artworks play a central role and can almost be marked as an independent part.