Anne Imhof’s recent exhibition, “Avatar II,” displayed at the Sprueth Magers gallery in London, is a masterful exploration of the liminal space between reality and artifice, presence and absence, and exposure and concealment. Imhof’s work, which spans all four floors of the gallery, encompasses a diverse array of mediums, including oil paintings, large-scale aluminum panel paintings, drawings, film, and sound works. What sets this exhibition apart is the integration of fitness equipment and gym furniture throughout the gallery, challenging conventional boundaries between functional objects and art, and immersing visitors in a multi-layered experience.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
From the moment visitors approach the exhibition from the street, they are drawn into Imhof’s world. The gallery’s glass storefront is obscured by rows of lockers and a suspended aluminum panel, creating a sense of anticipation and curiosity. Through this intriguing introduction, one’s attention is captured by a painting depicting Imhof’s collaborator, Eliza Douglas. This figurative work, a rarity in Imhof’s oeuvre, portrays Douglas from a performance at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, her face hidden beneath a sinister clown T-shirt. This image sets the stage for the exhibition, evoking a sense of beauty, imagined dystopia, and foreboding, which often accompanies Imhof’s art.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
The labyrinthine network of monochromatic gym lockers in subsequent galleries adds to the complexity of Imhof’s spatial orchestrations. These structures create both rooms and passageways, inviting visitors to rest and contemplate while simultaneously suggesting hidden objects and information, as well as the presence of bodies and physical exertion. Imhof’s restrained approach to installation is both experiential and thought-provoking, as the physical space itself becomes a canvas for narrative.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
Another striking work within the exhibition is a monumental multi-panel canvas depicting an explosion. This piece introduces a new dimension to Imhof’s painting practice, with a three-dimensional effect that initially appears realistic in grayscale. However, upon closer inspection, one discovers fields of pale red and greens, as well as a flattened 3D effect created by hand but generated digitally. Imhof’s ability to merge the physical and the digital adds a layer of complexity to her work, blurring the lines between the tangible and the intangible.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
One of the most intriguing aspects of the exhibition is a new film featuring Eliza Douglas in an amorphous space. She moves in and around locker-room benches and rows of lockers, while the backdrop shifts between abstracted fields of color and light. In a departure from Imhof’s usual practice, this film showcases the human body as fully present, while the background becomes nebulous and intangible. This dichotomy serves as a metaphor for Imhof’s broader approach, using specific objects and imagery to evoke a universal and expansive realm for the imagination.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
“Avatar II” at the Sprueth Magers gallery in London is a captivating journey into Anne Imhof’s creative universe, a space where the boundaries between reality and artifice, presence and absence, and exposure and concealment are not only explored but transcended. Imhof’s masterful orchestration of diverse mediums, combined with her thought-provoking spatial installations, provides visitors with an immersive and thought-provoking experience that challenges the conventional norms of contemporary art.
Anne Imhof, ‘Avatar II’, Exhibition at the Sprueth Magers gallery, London, 2022
