Johan Deckmann’s painted books are a brilliant blend of satire, psychology, and artistic minimalism. At first glance, they resemble vintage self-help books from the mid-20th century—faded covers, classic serif fonts, and muted colors that evoke a sense of nostalgia. But upon closer inspection, their fictional titles reveal biting observations about the human condition. These works aren’t actual books with content inside, but rather paintings of book covers, each featuring a single, self-contained sentence that offers as much insight as it does irony.

A former psychotherapist based in Copenhagen, Deckmann brings a rare duality to his work: the mind of a clinician and the eye of a conceptual artist. His experience working with patients has given him a profound understanding of emotional struggles, internal contradictions, and the stories we tell ourselves. That psychological awareness infuses his art. Titles like How to Stay Happy by Not Giving a Damn About Anything or How to Know What You Want Without Having to Think seem like jokes, but they also strike a deeper chord. These are the kinds of questions people actually wrestle with—Deckmann simply distills them into punchlines.

Deckmann’s books offer no real solutions, which is exactly the point. In a culture obsessed with life-hacking and self-improvement, he parodies the idea that life’s big problems can be solved with one-size-fits-all advice. The faux titles mock our desire to find clarity in chaos, while also delivering the clarity we’re seeking. It’s a clever contradiction. We laugh because we recognize the absurdity, and then pause because we realize how much truth is embedded in the joke.