Jens Kothe
Grenzflächen
29 August — 4 October 2026 | Penitentenstraat 29, 9000 Gent, BE
BARBÉ is pleased to present Grenzflächen, the first solo exhibition by German artist Jens Kothe (1985, DE) at the gallery.
Following his earlier presentations at BARBÉ, Kothe now brings together a new body of work that further develops his exploration of the human body through tactile wall objects and sculptural forms. Working with materials such as upholstery wadding, silicone, wood, fabrics and pigments, he creates works that evoke skin, membranes and fragmented body parts without ever becoming fully figurative. Muted colours, soft curves and slightly convex surfaces give the objects a strong physical presence while inviting a more intimate and attentive way of looking.
The title Grenzflächen — literally translating as “boundary surfaces” — refers to the thresholds that run throughout Kothe’s practice: between body and object, interior and exterior, the organic and the constructed. His works exist in a space where painting and sculpture overlap, where familiar forms become strange, and where surfaces begin to function as sites of tension, vulnerability and closeness.
In Grenzflächen, Kothe presents a restrained yet deeply sensual installation in which atmosphere, material and perception become inseparable.
Portrait by Gregor Guski
Jens Kothe (Germany, 1985) lives and works in Bochum and Düsseldorf. His practice explores the physical and sensual qualities of materials, translating impressions of the human body and everyday surroundings into tactile wall objects and sculptural forms.
Working with materials such as fabric, tiles, glass and wood, Kothe creates muted, fleshy surfaces shaped by soft curves, subtle convexities and cavities reminiscent of enlarged fragments of the body. Rather than representing the figure as a whole, he isolates and abstracts its traces through photography, clay modelling and moulds taken from body parts. At the same time, his forms can recall familiar objects or elements of domestic and industrial environments. This ambiguity gives the works a peculiar physical presence.
They operate somewhere between image, object and counterpart, inviting an almost instinctive desire to touch while remaining deliberately fragmentary. The tension between organic associations and constructed forms reflects a body negotiating the industrial world around it. Through material, scale and fragmentation, Kothe creates intimate encounters in which atmosphere becomes as important as the object itself.
Jens Kothe has already participated in several group exhibitions at BARBÉ and has also exhibited at various galleries and institutional venues, including: Kunsthaus NRW, Aachen (DE), Sothu, Zurich (CH), Swivel Gallery, New York (US), Eigen + Art Lab, Berlin (DE), Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum (DE), Berthold Pott, Cologne (DE), Beacon / Paulina Caspari, Munich (DE), Cassina Projects, Milan (IT), Kunstverein Heppenheim, Heppenheim (DE), Museum Goch, Goch (DE), Swivel Saugerties, Saugerties (US), Downs & Ross, New York (US), Museum Villa Rot, Burgrieden (DE), Platform 6A Deweer, Otegem (BE), Dortmunder U / Museum Ostwall, Dortmund (DE), Efremidis Gallery, Berlin (DE), Kunsthaus Essen, Essen (DE), DAMA, Turin (IT), RFK, Düsseldorf (DE), Pfirsich, Cologne (DE), Philara Collection, Düsseldorf (DE), Rod Barton, London (UK), Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf (DE), Hyperraum e.V., Bochum (DE), Goethe-Institut, Paris (FR), McKinsey & Company, Düsseldorf (DE), Kunsthallen Bochum, Bochum (DE), Worringer Str. 57, Düsseldorf (DE), Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (DE), Cubus Kunsthalle, Duisburg (DE), Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (DE), Museo Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo, Arrecife, Lanzarote (ES).
Contact us to request a preview catalog or for more information.
+32 (0)9 391 39 13
desk@barbegallery.be
