The fact that the Guide Michelin has awarded us a Michelin star fills us with pride every single day. But for us, Michelin-starred gastronomy above all means one thing: hospitality without stiffness. And the paintings on the walls play a key role in creating exactly that. From our daily joy with these artworks, a simple idea emerged during a conversation with the artist: Why not let our guests experience the art themselves before sitting down at the set table? That is how our event format “Brunch & Art” was born.
Schöneberg as a Canvas: From West Berlin Myths to Urban Art
The fact that art and gastronomy blend so naturally at our place is no coincidence, but reflects the very DNA of our neighborhood. Schöneberg has always been a sanctuary for free spirits. In the 1970s, music icons like David Bowie and Iggy Pop strolled down Hauptstraße, turning the neighborhood into the epicenter of the West Berlin lifestyle. This is where raw subculture met unconventional approaches to art, a spirit that can still be felt in the streets today.
Over the decades, Schöneberg has developed into one of the most important hubs for urban art. Street art and graffiti culture in particular have taken deep root here. Looking from Winterfeldtplatz across Potsdamer Straße toward Bülowstraße, you see large-scale murals, facade art, and a dense network of galleries. With the Urban Nation museum, one of the world's most important institutions for street art is located right in our neighborhood. It is precisely this easygoing neighborhood atmosphere, where art simply belongs to everyday life, that we bring inside to our restaurant.
From the Pitch to the Canvas: Who Is Jans Echternacht?
The large, round works on our walls were created by Berlin artist Jans Echternacht. To understand their raw power, it is worth looking at his biography. Before devoting himself entirely to painting, Jans was a professional soccer player on the pitch, including time in the youth academy of FC Schalke 04 and at Grasshopper Club Zurich. Anyone who knows competitive sports understands the interplay of focus, body control, physical power, and the split second in which a decision must be made.
When a severe injury brought his athletic career to an end, Echternacht found a new outlet in art for that very energy. Painting for him is not a static process in front of an easel, but one of full physical effort. Alongside his own artistic work, social engagement is particularly close to his heart: Through his non-profit association artists for children e.V., he regularly works with children in youth homes to help them gain self-confidence and discover new forms of expression through creative painting processes.
The Magic of Rotation: What Is Spin Art?
The artworks of Jans Echternacht are not created with a delicate fine-hair brush. He works with centrifugal force, speed, and liquid acrylic paint. In so-called Spin Painting, the canvas is mounted on a custom painting machine he developed himself and set into extremely rapid rotation. Once liquid paint is applied to the spinning surface, physics takes command.
Centrifugal force flings the pigments across and beyond the canvas edges in fractions of a second. The result is a fascinating interplay of conscious color choices and unpredictable physical laws. No Spin Painting can be planned out precisely or reproduced identically; every work is a unique piece filled with movement and depth.
When Culinary Craft Becomes an Art Form: Aesthetics on the Plate
The reason painting and the Guide Michelin-rewarded cuisine at Bonvivant harmonize so well comes down to the many similarities in their creative processes. Crafting a purely plant-based menu at a Michelin-star level speaks essentially the same language as working on a canvas: it is about composition, balance, contrasts, and a fine sense for aesthetics.
A dish in our dining room should be more than just satisfying your hunger; it is a visual and sensory performance. Much like a painter working with color fields and textures, we compose our dishes: colorful purées, delicate arrangements, and the play between crisp and silky accents. When the light streams through the windows on Goltzstraße onto the tables, the layers of color on Jans Echternacht's walls merge directly with the compositions on your plates.
The Event Format at Bonvivant: Create First, Enjoy Afterwards
With “Brunch & Art”, we dissolve the distance to the artwork on select weekends. Your restaurant visit becomes an active creative experience:
The Workshop: Under the personal guidance of Jans Echternacht, you step up to the art machine yourselves. Without any prior knowledge or fear of making mistakes, every guest applies their own color combinations onto the rotating canvas. It is all about pure joy in experimenting and experiencing how something uniquely your own emerges from color and motion.
The Michelin-Star Brunch: Once your own painting is resting on the drying rack, you move over to the set table. Our kitchen team then serves you our multifaceted, purely plant-based brunch in proven star quality. Here the circle closes: the visual dynamics from the workshop are reflected back in the colors, shapes, and flavors of your menu.
How Art Transforms Our Dining Room
The large-format Spin Paintings permanently define the atmosphere at Bonvivant. Abstract rotation art does not force specific motifs on the viewer, but leaves room for your mind to breathe. The symmetrical force fields bring energy into the space while radiating a pleasant sense of calm at the same time.
They take away the stiff attitude of a Michelin-starred restaurant and create precisely the relaxed atmosphere people look for in Schöneberg: a place to feel welcome, to marvel, and to linger. When the sun shines through the large windows and makes the colors on the walls glow, brunch turns into an experience for all senses.
Your Visit to Us: Tickets & Schedule
Because spaces at the art machines during “Brunch & Art” are strictly limited, we recommend booking well in advance via our website. The format is designed for anyone looking for an extraordinary neighborhood experience, whether as a couple, in a group, or as a team event for work. All materials and paints are included in the ticket price. You can easily pick up your dried canvas original from us after the event.
Come by, let the colors inspire you, and enjoy the weekend with us. We look forward to welcoming you!
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is the artist behind the paintings at Bonvivant?
- The large-scale works at Bonvivant were created by Berlin artist Jans Echternacht. As a former professional soccer player, he brings the dynamics and physicality of sports into his Spin Paintings, enriching our Michelin-starred restaurant.
- How does a “Brunch & Art” event at Bonvivant work?
- The event starts with a hands-on art workshop at the rotation machine guided by Jans Echternacht. After creating your own painting, you move to your table and enjoy our purely plant-based brunch at a Michelin-star level.
- Do I need prior artistic experience?
- No, not at all. Spin Painting works intuitively through the machine's centrifugal force. Jans guides you step by step so that every participant ends up holding an impressive unique artwork.
- Can you also purchase the artworks displayed at Bonvivant?
- Yes, the original works by Jans Echternacht exhibited in our dining room are available for purchase. If interested, feel free to speak directly to our service team or reach out to the artist's studio.
- When can I take my self-designed artwork home?
- Since Spin Painting involves applying multiple layers of liquid acrylic paint, the artwork needs some drying time. You can usually pick it up packaged at our restaurant in the following days.