Silke Otto-Knapp lived and worked in Los Angeles, USA until she passed away in 2022. At the centre of her works is the construct of the stage.

Motifs range from choreographed groups of figures, historical stage sets, as well as pared-down landscapes. Otto-Knapp works with watercolour on canvas using a process of removal and accumulation of pigment in order to create spaces where the flatness of the pictorial space intersects with an illusionistic construction of space.

For Liverpool Biennial 2018, Silke Otto-Knapp was commissioned to produce a new large-scale work for the fourth-floor gallery of Bluecoat. Like a classic frieze, the painting will wrap around the perimeters of the space, combining figures in group formations with abstract panels. The edition is inspired by this painting.