Anne Imhof Dances with Death in ‘Citizen’

Her new solo exhibition is now on view at Sprüth Magers London until August 1.

Summary

• Sprüth Magers in London is presenting a new exhibition by Anne Imhof
• On through August 1, Citizen features new works — wave paintings, drawings, installation, and a film — that build on her 2025 shows, DOOM and Fun ist ein Stahlbad

Anne Imhof’s new solo exhibition, Citizen, has touched down at Sprüth Magers in London. Featuring film, sculpture, pastel works, and new paintings, the show builds on the German artist’s recent heavy hitters — DOOM in New York and Fun ist ein Stahlbad at Museu de Serralves in Porto — exploring themes of mortality, pleasure, restraint, and movement.

A look at the German artist’s oeuvre reveals a jack of many trades, working across mediums, like performance, sculpture, painting, dance, installation, and film. From her Golden Lion-winning Faust to her immersive Sex at Tate Modern, Citizen, as she notes, doubles as a chronicle of her career so far.

In London, new scratched paintings, crowd barrier installations, oil pastel drawings, Imhof’s latest bronze reliefs, and her titular film unfold across the gallery’s two floors. The exhibition traces her creative evolution, notably in painting, fronted by monumental scratched wave pieces, including the six-meter “The Lake of My Mother’s Tears” (2025) and “You Are Queen so I Will Bow to You” (2026). Digitally constructed and later treated with rich layers of oil paint, cut with raw touches, preserving the energy of a body in motion.

“Citizen” equally anchors the show, bringing new life to her hyper-immersive DOOM in a four-channel film shot by one of its performers on an iPhone. Nearby, pencil drawings inspired by the Danse macabre and erotic paintings of women complete the scene, adding a pictorial element to Imhof’s refusal to sit still.

Citizen is now on view in London through August 1.

Sprüth Magers London
7A Grafton Street,
London, W1S 4EJ, UK