Lies about Painting

Thanks to donations and purchases in recent years, the Moderna Museet Collection has acquired several profoundly interesting new works by Swedish and international artists that in some way examine the representation of painting.  Eleven of these new acquisitions are presented in a thematic exhibition, Lies about Painting, which will be shown in the upper gallery at Moderna Museet Malmö.

The question of whether painting is still a viable and credible artistic medium arises at regular intervals, alongside a discussion that emphasises the conceptual presence of painting. The works featured in Lies about Painting do not necessarily have these issues as their main focus, but they can nevertheless be interpreted, in some sense, as deconstructions of the phenomenon of painting itself. In different ways, they reveal the various notions – or even lies – surrounding the art of painting.

The exhibition includes works by Jutta Koether, Marianna Uutinen and Klara Lidén, who undermine the often dominating perception of painting as a male activity. To some extent, these artists imitate the look of abstract expressionism and monochromes. However, by using cheap paints or materials that can be regarded as ugly, any pretentions of sublimity are shifted. Monika Marklinger, also featured in Lies about Painting, does not even make paintings. In a video lasting only a few seconds, she asks why anybody bothers to paint!

Participating artists: Tauba Auerbach, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Wade Guyton, Alex Israel, Sergej Jensen, Jutta Koether, Klara Lidén, Michel Majerus, Monika Marklinger, Marianna Uutinen and Fredrik Vaerslev.