Koether is often regarded as a female counterweight to the male dominated German art scene at the end of the 80s, represented by artists such as Martin Kippenberger and Sigmar Polke. By means of feminist oriented themes, and through appropriations from literature and art history, Koether has positioned herself as a contrast to the aforementioned artists. At the same time Koether can be understood as part of a current tendency in which a number of painters interest themselves for the primitive, physical and personal. In recent years Koether has increasingly used painting as part of an expanded field where, for example, black-painted walls and strobe lights have been the surround for paintings, and where metal objects appear both in and around the images.
With this exhibition, Bergen Kunsthall and the contemporary music festival Borealis continue their collaboration and common exploration of points of intersection between the field of music and contemporary art. Koether’s paintings cannot be seen isolated from her work as a musician and writer. She often works with improvisation together with other artists. Recently, Koether has collaborated with musicians such as Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Tom Verlaine (Television), and in the project Electrophilia with the now deceased artist, Steven Parrino. With such detours into other areas of art, Koether has created a personal space for experimenting with, and revitalising painting as a medium within the contemporary art scene.
Jutta Koether (1958) was born in Cologne. She lives and works in New York. Previous one-man exhibitions include: Kunsthalle Bern (2007), Kölnischer Kunstverein (2006) (Cologne Art Society), Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles (2006), Thomas Erben Gallery, New York (2005). Koether has taken part in a number of group exhibitions throughout the world, including the Whitney Biennial 2006. As a writer she is a regular contributor to journals such as SPEX, Texte zur Kunst and Art Forum.