Anne Imhof to Debut ‘House of Swans’ Ballet-Inspired Show at Tai Kwun

Anne Imhof will present her first solo exhibition in Asia at Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, opening next month with a suite of new works. The show, titled “House of Swans,” will take over three floors of the venue’s JC Contemporary and F Hall galleries, according to the institution’s announcement.

Curated by Ying Kwok and Tiffany Leung, the exhibition features a major commission of monumental new pieces that create a multisensory experience through atmospheric scenography, installations, paintings, and live performances. Tai Kwun described the show as juxtaposing classical forms like oil painting, bronze sculpture, and ballet with large-scale sonic installations, physical performances, and videos to explore bodily presence, restriction, and authority.

Central to the show is the performance “House of Swans,” staged by Imhof’s collaborators and the Hong Kong Ballet on September 25 and 26, with additional performances during the exhibition’s run. The piece serves as a companion to Imhof’s 2025 work “DOOM,” a three-hour performance debuted at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. While “DOOM” was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “House of Swans” acts as an origin story for the titular house, imagining the lives of the Capulets and Montagues’ neighbors.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Imhof described the new work as “a fantastical piece about love and peace during a time of war,” promising a “queered up” take on the play. Tai Kwun added that the performance and exhibition follow “a heroine struggling on her path to love through a chaotic cityscape.”

Other debuting works include a 2025 untitled bronze sculptural relief depicting female pleasure, and “Citizen,” an 81-minute video that features suggestions of violence and scenes involving trans bodies. The exhibition also continues Imhof’s exploration of ballet, a discipline she first incorporated into “DOOM.” Imhof noted that while autocrats use ballet as a soft power tool, she is interested in claiming it back to tell different stories.

Imhof, who won the Golden Lion for her 2017 German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, has since staged performances at major institutions including Tate Modern, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palais de Tokyo. Her work often reflects a melancholic mood, which she attributes to a shared contemporary experience.

“House of Swans” marks a significant Asian debut for Imhof, whose performances have drawn international acclaim since her Venice triumph.