Anne Imhof "House of Swans" (Tai Kwun) Opening Report: New Performance Incorporating Classical Ballet
Anne Imhof's first major Asia solo exhibition opened at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, featuring new performances that incorporate classical ballet.Summary
Anne Imhof's first major solo exhibition in Asia, "House of Swans", is on view at Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong from September 25, 2026 to January 3, 2027. Centered on newly premiered works, the exhibition spans painting, sculpture, video, installation, and music, with classical ballet—a recent focus of Imhof's—brought to the fore. During the exhibition, a performance titled "House of Swans" (2026), a collaboration with Hong Kong Ballet, will be staged, and a full version of about 70 minutes was presented at the opening. Born in 1978 in Giessen, Germany, Imhof won the Golden Lion at the 2017 Venice Biennale for the German Pavilion and has exhibited at Tate Modern and other venues. The exhibition features video of the 2025 performance installation "DOOM: House of Hope" alongside new paintings and bronze sculptures, exploring themes of bodily presence and absence. Paintings such as "The Queen of the Swans" (2026) and "Giselle 1" (2026) reference ballet, with the latter focusing on the "Mad Scene" from Giselle. The bronze "Untitled" (2025) captures physical contact. Responding to Hong Kong, old film reels recovered from Clear Water Bay Film Studio are displayed, and together with the video work "Citizen" (2025), they explore the boundary between history and fiction.
(Source：美術手帖)