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Barth, Uta

German, b. 1958

BiographyGerman-American contemporary photographer Uta Barth aims to, in her own words, “make the viewer aware of their own looking.” Field #13, in the Museum of Contemporary Photography collection, presents a blurred vision of a setting that is understood visually only through the title of the piece. In other works, Barth continues to utilize techniques such as bokeh, an effect for which artists use a wide aperture to focus on a subject and blur everything behind or in front of it. In manipulating her camera to focus and relying on natural light and color, Barth immerses the viewer in her fascination with perception.
Uta Barth has been featured in exhibitions extensively since the 1980s, including at 1301PE, Los Angeles (2024); Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Paris (2021) and Stockholm (2013); the Art Institute of Chicago (2011); Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1997); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1995); among others. She has published numerous monographs, including Uta Barth: Peripheral Vision, Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2024; Uta Barth: to draw with light, New York City: Blind Spot Publishing, 2012; and Uta Barth, London: Phaidon Press, 2004; among others. She is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and 2004 Guggenheim Fellow, and winner of the 2012 Anonymous Was A Woman Award and 1983 National Arts Association Award. Her work is held in collections around the world, including in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Tate Modern, London; Vancouver Art Gallery; among many others.