Natures Mortes at Palais de Tokyo

Artists: Anne Imhof, Alvin Baltrop, Mohamed Bourouissa, Eugène Delacroix, Trisha Donnelly, Eliza Douglas, Cyprien Gaillard, Théodore Géricault, David Hammons, Eva Hesse, Mike Kelley, Jutta Koether, Klara Lidén, Joan Mitchell, Oscar Murillo, Eadweard Muybridge, Cady Noland, Precious Okoyomon, Francis Picabia, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Sigmar Polke, Paul B. Preciado, Bunny Rogers, Sturtevant, Yung Tatu, Paul Thek, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosemarie Trockel, Cy Twombly, Adrián Villar Rojas

Exhibition title: Natures Mortes

Curated by: Emma Lavigne, Vittoria Matarrese

Music : Eliza Douglas

Sound installation: Eliza Douglas, Anne Imhof

Venue: Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

Date: May 22 – October 24, 2021

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists, ©Palais de Tokyo and the respective copyright holders

After laying siege to the German pavilion with her exhibition and performance Faust, for which she was awarded the Golden Lion at the 2017 Venice Biennale, Anne Imhof takes hold of the entirety of the Palais de Tokyo to create an all-embracing, polyphonic work. Here, she fuses space and bodies, music and painting, and her own works with those of accomplices, especially the artist and musical composer Eliza Douglas, and thirty invited guest artists.

After training in Frankfurt am Main at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste-Städelschule, one of Germany’s most prestigious art schools, while immersed in the city’s club and music scene, the artist has established herself over a decade as a prominent figure in contemporary art through her radical work. Within the bared structure of the Palais de Tokyo, stripped down to its fragile carcass with its topography exposed, she fits a glass-walled maze that simultaneously fragments the space and generates new perspectives.

Haunted by painting, the fleeting cycle of life and the disruptions of the present moment, she composes therein her Natures Mortes [still lifes]-memento mori to the here and now. We are encouraged to walk the space between life and nonlife, darkness and light, past and present, stillness and action, intensity and disenchantment, and to freely trace our own path across this vast, open scene.

Anne Imhof was born in 1978 in Giessen, Germany. She lives and works in Berlin and Frankfurt (Germany).

After studying at the Städelschule (Frankfurt, Germany), in 2013 she put on her first solo exhibition “Parade” in Portikus (Frankfurt, Germany). Since then, Anne Imhof’s work has been shown in particular at the Art Institute of Chicago (2019), the Tate Modern (London, 2019), the Hamburger Banhof (Berlin, 2016), Kunsthalle Basel (2016), the MoMA PS1 (New York, 2015) and the Carré d’Art – Musée d’Art Contemporain in Nîmes (2014). She has also taken part in a large number of group exhibitions and festivals, including the MMK Frankfurt (2019 and 2014), Tai Kwun (Hong Kong, 2019), La Biennale de Montréal (2016), the Centre Pompidou (Paris, 2015) and the Palais de Tokyo (Paris, 2015).

Anne Imhof represented Germany at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017 where she won the Golden Lion for the best national participation, thanks to her performance Faust. She has also been awarded the Absolut Art Award (2017) and the Preis der Nationalgalerie (2015).

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Wolfgang Tillmans, An Der Isar II (2008), c-print mounted on Dibond, in artist’s frame, 181 × 258 × 6 cm, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Sigmar Polke, Axial Age (2005-2007), nine panels, artificial resin, dry pigment on fabric (and on some panels: spray paint and acrylic), Exhibition view Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Coll. Pinault Collection, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buccholz, Sprüth Magers, The Estate of Sigmar Polke (Cologne / Köln) / Adagp (Paris), 2021

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Àdrian Villar Rojas, Untitled (from the series Rinascimento) (2017), sculpture, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artists, Galerie Buchholz, Sprüth Magers, kurimanzutto (Mexico City) and Marian Goodman Gallery (New York, Paris, London)

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Joan Mitchell, La Grande Vallée XX (Jean) (1983), oil on canvas, 260 × 200 cm, Coll. CAPC musée d’art contemporain (Bordeaux), Inv. 2004-05, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Estate of Joan Mitchell, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers

Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes (2021), exhibition view, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Alvin Baltrop, Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy of the artists and Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne / Köln, New York)

Alvin Baltrop, THE PIERS (MAN IN WAREHOUSE) (N.D.[1975-1986]), Gelatin silver print ; 9 × 17 cm; Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne / Köln, New York)

Alvin Baltrop, THE PIERS (MAN LOOKING THROUGH WINDOW) (N.D. [1975-1986]), Gelatin silver print; 17,1 × 11,7 cm; Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne / Köln, New York)

Mohamed Bourouissa, The Ride (2017), Color and black and white silver print on car metal plate, body part, spray painting and laquer ; 235 × 800 cm, Courtesy kamel mennour (London, Paris), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Théodore Géricault, Étude D’une Tête De Cheval Écorchée, Vue De Face (19th Century) Black chalk, sanguine ; 42,6 × 28,8 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Théodore Géricault, Étude D’un Membre Antérieur Gauche Écorché, Vu De Face (1815) Black chalk, sanguine ; 39,7 × 27,6 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Eugène Delacroix, Étude De Draperies (19th Century), Sanguine ; 22,6 × 18,5 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Théodore Géricault, Études De Nu (19th Century), Pen, brown ink ; 22 × 23,2 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris),, Théodore Géricault, Le Cheval Mort (1823), Lithograph (set of five pieces published by Ms. Hulin); 29,2 × 41,8 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Eugène Delacroix, Étude De Draperies (19th Century), Sanguine ; 22,6 × 18,5 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Théodore Géricault, Études De Nu (19th Century), Pen, brown ink ; 22 × 23,2 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Eugène Delacroix, Étude De Draperies (Xix E Siècle / 19th Century ) Sanguine / Sanguine ; 22,6 × 18,5 cm; Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris), Inv. EBA761 Photo : © Beaux-Arts de Paris, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image Beaux-Arts de Paris

Trisha Donnelly, Untitled (2014) Video (color, silent); 7 min 30 s ( loop), Coll. Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Anne Imhof, Dive Board (I) (2021), Galvanised steel, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers, Down: Anne Imhof, Track, 2021, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Up: Eliza Douglas & Anne Imhof, Sound Rail Ii (2021), Steel, speakers. Music by Eliza Douglas, Sound installation by Eliza Douglas and Anne Imhof, Soundtrack : Silver ; Black Metal Mermaid ; The Corner of the Sky; Lucifer’s Lullaby (Trabende Trabanten (Anne’s poem)); Tiny Vixen ; Divide the Water (whipping waves soundtrack); (Ocean sound), Courtesy of the artists, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

View of the exhibition « Carte blanche à Anne Imhof, Natures Mortes », Palais de Tokyo, (22.05.2021 – 24.10.2021), Eléments of Angst opera presented in 2016 at the Kunsthalle of Bâle, at the Hamburger Bahnof of Berlin and in the Biennale de Montréal, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Buchhol. Anne Imhof, Dive Board (Iii) (2021), Galvanised steel , Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Anne Imhof, Falcon (2021), Steel ; 118,5 × 56 × 46 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Anne Imhof, Room Vii (2021), Steel, glass ; 15,5 × 220 × 310 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Eliza Douglas, Anne Imhof, Bell (2021), Two-way active speaker, chain ; Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers, Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Paul Thek, La Corazza Di Michelangelo (1963), Ceramic, earthenware (faience) with white cracks from the 1950s, wax; 40 × 30 × 20 cm, Courtesy Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Falckenberg Collection (Hamburg); © The Estate of George Paul Thek. Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 210 × 160 cm, Coll. Nunzia e Vittorio Gaddi (Lucca); Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville); © Eliza Douglas. Rosemarie Trockel, Shutter 2 (2010), Ceramic, glazed ; 95 × 68 × 5 cm, Courtesy Sprüth Magers; © Rosemarie Trockel, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Anne Imhof, Nature I (2021), Oil on canvas ; 175 × 250 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. On the right : Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 210 × 160 cm, Coll. Nunzia e Vittorio Gaddi (Lucca); Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville); © Eliza Douglas, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 208,2 × 161,6 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville). Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 207,9 × 162 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville). Eliza Douglas & Anne Imhof, Vape Music (2021), Video, color, sound ; 30 min 4 s, Music Performed by Eliza Douglas and Anne Imhof, Performers : Daniel Birkner, Kwaku Broni, June Won Choi, Jakob Eilinghoff, Bruno Krahl, Mickey Mahar, and Henning Sponholz, Courtesy of the artists, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 209,4 × 163,2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville), Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 207,9 × 162 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville)

Eliza Douglas, Untitled (2020), Oil on canvas ; 209,4 × 163,2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Air de Paris (Romainville)

Cyprien Gaillard, Green Vessel Study (2020), Polaroid, mat, aluminium and plexi frame ; 103 × 73 × 4,5 cm (framed) (each), Courtesy of the artist and Sprüth Magers (Berlin, London, Los Angeles); © Cyprien Gaillard, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Mike Kelley, Ahh…Youth! (1991-2008), Eight photographs, cibachrome print ; 49,85 × 32,7 cm (each), Coll. MJS (Paris), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Jutta Koether, Untitled (1986), Oil on canvas ; 50 × 40,5 cm, Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne, New York), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Anne Imhof, Room V (2021), Steel, glass ; 15,5 × 220 × 310 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. In the background : Anne Imhof, Maze (2021), Steel, glass, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. On the right : Joan Mitchell, La Gande Vallée Xx (Jean) (1983), Oil on canvas ; 260 × 200 cm, Coll. CAPC musée d’art contemporain (Bordeaux); © Estate of Joan Mitchell (New York), Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Joan Mitchell, La Gande Vallée Xx (Jean), (1983), Oil on canvas, 260 × 200 cm, Coll. CAPC musée d’art contemporain (Bordeaux) © Estate of Joan Mitchell (New York) Photo : © Frédéric Delpech

Sigmar Polke, Axial Age (2005-2007), Nine panels, artificial resin, dry pigment on fabric (and on some panels: spray paint and acrylic), Neobyzanz / Neo-Byzantium (2005): 303,1 × 483,3 cm. Jugendstil (2005): 303,6 × 483,6 cm. Ohne Titel / Axial Age (2005): 303,5 × 483,4 cm Deucalion’s Flood (2007): 480 × 900 cm (overall, 3 panels), Determination of the Position: Here It Is (2007): 303,4 × 503,7 cm. Urlicht (2007): 303,6 × 503,6 cm. Forward (2007): 303,4 × 503,6 cm, Coll. Pinault Collection ; © The Estate of Sigmar Polke (Cologne). In the center : Anne Imhof, Room Ii (2021), Steel, glass ; 15,5 × 220 × 310 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Sigmar Polke, Axial Age (2005-2007), Nine panels, artificial resin, dry pigment on fabric (and on some panels: spray paint and acrylic). Coll. Pinault Collection ; © The Estate of Sigmar Polke (Cologne / Köln) / Adagp (Paris), 2021

Bunny Rogers, Swans Filth Mop (Zombie) (2019), Stained wood, yarn t-shirt, duct tape ; Dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Société (Berlin). In the background : Anne Imhof, Maze (2021), Steel, glass, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers, Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Anne Imhof, Untitled (Natures Mortes) (2021), Oil on canvas ; Seven panels, 250 × 175 cm (each), Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Center : Anne Imhof, Passage (2021), Glass, steel, wood, acrylic, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. On the right : Sturtevant, Finite Infinite (2010), Four-channel video installation (colour, sound), 3 min 35 s (loop); Courtesy Air de Paris (Romainville); © Estate Sturtevant (Paris), Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Sturtevant, Muybridge Plate #97 Woman Walking (1966), Print, collage ; 32,5 × 32,8 cm, Courtesy Estate Sturtevant (Paris) and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (London, Paris, Salzburg); © Estate Sturtevant. Sturtevant, Muybridge Study (1966), Black and white photographs glued on black paper, pencil ; 32,3 × 33 cm, Courtesy Estate Sturtevant (Paris) and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (London, Paris, Salzburg); © Estate Sturtevant, Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Sturtevant, Dreams Money Can Buy / Duchamp Nu Descendant Un Escalier (1967), Video ; 2 min 59 s276, Courtesy Estate Sturtevant (Paris) and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (London, Paris, Salzburg), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Young Tatu, 2020a (2020), Carpet ; 150 × 80 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Paul Thek, La Corazza Di Michelangelo (1963), Ceramic, earthenware (faience) with white cracks from the 1950s, wax; 40 × 30 × 20 cm Courtesy Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Falckenberg Collection (Hambourg / Hamburg); Photo : © Egbert Haneke. © The Estate of George Paul Thek (New York)

Wolfgang Tillmans, Capodimonte (1999), C-print, framed ; 30,5 × 40,6 cm, Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne, New York). Anne Imhof, High Bed Ii (2021), Steel, foam mattress ; 220 × 225 x 100 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Rosemarie Trockel, Shutter 2 (2010), Ceramic, glazed ; 95 × 68 × 5 cm, Courtesy Sprüth Magers; © Rosemarie Trockel. Cy Twombly, Achilles Mourning The Death Of Patroclus (1962), Oil on canvas, blacklead ; 259 × 302 cm, Coll. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou (Paris), Inv. AM2005-24 © Cy Twombly Foundation, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Wolfgang Tillmans, Capodimonte (1999), C-print, framed ; 30,5 × 40,6 cm, Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne, New York), Photo credit : Aurélien Mole

Rosemarie Trockel, Shutter 2 (2010), Ceramic, glazed ; 95 × 68 × 5 cm, Courtesy Sprüth Magers (Berlin, Londres / London, Los Angeles); © Rosemarie Trockel, Adagp (Paris), 2021

Wolfgang Tillmans, Capodimonte (1999), C-print, framed ; 30,5 × 40,6 cm, Courtesy Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne, New York). Anne Imhof, High Bed Ii (2021), Steel, foam mattress ; 220 × 225 x 100 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Rosemarie Trockel, Shutter 2 (2010), Ceramic, glazed ; 95 × 68 × 5 cm, Courtesy Sprüth Magers; © Rosemarie Trockel. Cy Twombly, Achilles Mourning The Death Of Patroclus (1962), Oil on canvas, blacklead ; 259 × 302 cm, Coll. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou (Paris) © Cy Twombly Foundation, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Anne Imhof, High Bed Ii (2021), Steel, foam mattress ; 220 × 225 x 100 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Cy Twombly, Achilles Mourning The Death Of Patroclus (1962), Oil on canvas, blacklead ; 259 × 302 cm, Coll. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou (Paris), © Cy Twombly Foundation. Anne Imhof, “Trabende Trabanten / Wir Werden Wie Ihr Sein / Vergraben In Eure Mähnen Aus Kupfer Und Gold” (2020), Leather jacket, white hanging hook, refined sugar ; Dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Buchholz. Théodore Géricault, Shipwreck Of The Meduse (1820), Line engraving ; 17,7 × 24,9 cm, Coll. Beaux-Arts de Paris (Paris). Anne Imhof, High Bed I (2021), Acier, matelas en mousse / Steel, foam mattress ; 220 × 225 x 100 cm, Courtesy de l’artiste / of the artist, Galerie Buchholz et / and Sprüth Magers. Sigmar Polke, Biennale (1986), Gelatin silver print ; 30 × 40 cm, Private collection ; Courtesy Sies + Höke Galerie (Düsseldorf); © The Estate of Sigmar Polke (Cologne), Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Rosemarie Trockel, Shutter 2 (2010), Ceramic, glazed ; 95 × 68 × 5 cm, Courtesy Sprüth Magers; © Rosemarie Trockel. Anne Imhof, High Bed I (2021), Steel, foam mattress ; 220 × 225 x 100 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Buchholz and Sprüth Magers. Cy Twombly, Achilles Mourning The Death Of Patroclus (1962), Oil on canvas, blacklead ; 259 × 302 cm, Coll. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou (Paris), © Cy Twombly Foundation, Photo credit : Andrea Rossetti

Cy Twombly, Achilles Mourning The Death Of Patroclus (1962), Oil on canvas, blacklead ; 259 × 302 cm Coll. Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou (Paris), Inv. AM2005-24 © Cy Twombly Foundation ; Photo : © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Philippe Migeat

Àdrian Villar Rojas, Untitled (From The Series Rinascimento) (2017), Sculpture, Courtesy: the artist; kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Marian Goodman Gallery (New York, Paris, London / Londres) Photo : © Philipp Hänger/Kunsthalle Basel