Anne Imhof talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to musicians, and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work. Imhof, who was born in 1978 in Giessen in Germany, is primarily known for her epic durational performances involving diverse collectives of dancers, musicians and actors. Their movement, speech and song is built from often fragmentary gestures, and informed by a wealth of sources as well as the innate expertise of the performers themselves, which Imhof harnesses to choreograph tableaux of rich affective power. A reflection on and of contemporary societal conditions, these works are also profoundly engaged with cultural and performance traditions, from the languages and forms of contemporary dance and ballet to rock concerts and art history. Imhof’s practice extends far beyond performance, involving painting and drawing, sculpture and sculptural installation, and film. In each language that she adopts, she overtly engages her audience and particularly their bodies, whether that is in the mode of address of her performance works, in sculptures that evoke barriers or surveillance mechanisms, or in paintings that overwhelm the viewer in their scale and the gravity of their imagery. 

She discusses the disparate creation of meaning in her work, through her own framing, her collaborators’ performances and the viewers’ experience. She reflects on the balance between structure and improvisation in her performances and the mutual trust that is key in working with dancers, choreographers, musicians and actors. She talks about the role of drawing in underpinning the other elements of her work. Among the references she discusses are to the early influence of teachers who recognised her interest in drawing and who led her to make copies of Michelangelo. She talks about Tino Sehgal and William Forsythe’s formative influence and her admiration of cultural figures as diverse as the artists Cameron Rowland and Arthur Jafa, the philosopher Juliane Rebentisch and writers including Franz Kafka and Robert Bresson, whose screenplays she particularly admires. She gives insight into her life in the studio and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?

Anne Imhof: Citizen, Sprüth Magers, London, until 1 August.

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