Queen of Never
September 4, 2026 – October 17, 2026
Johanna Reich
Anita Beckers Gallery
Under the title "Queen of Never," die Galerie Beckers die Galerie presents the second solo exhibition by Cologne-based artist Johanna Reich (born 1977 in Minden, Germany). On view are recent works, including hybrid paintings from the series “The Colour of Maybe,” drawings from “SHE-LAND,” and self-driving “bots.” These multimedia works are part of Reich’s long-standing artistic and critical exploration of language, writing, and artificial intelligence.
Reich has been working with language models since 2018—long before the boom in generative AI systems. This makes her one of the early artists to explore the use of AI-assisted language generation in the context of contemporary art. Drawing on her experience as a synesthete—who perceives multiple neural connections between letters, colors, and sound—she collaborated with an AI to develop her own language, called “Hynthia,” based on her subjective perception. In the exhibition, poems in “Hynthia” are presented, among other things, as moving LED scrolls superimposed over poetic, abstract color paintings.
Reich expands upon traditional techniques such as painting and drawing by incorporating linguistic and algorithmic elements, allowing her images to “speak” in a figurative sense. By presenting her paintings as vocal counterparts, she raises questions about our relationship to art and artificial intelligence.
The exhibition “Queen of Never” is less about envisioning dystopian future scenarios. Rather, it focuses on the subtle nuances and multifaceted questions that arise in contemporary art production and our society when dealing with AI: How does our perception of language, text, and poetry change when machines become conversational partners and creators? What new forms of attribution, empathy, or projection emerge in our relationship with AI?