Isa Genzken

“'about her Basic Research Paintings': Isa Genzken in conversation with Gregor Muir, July 2015 - on Youtube”

“'Who Do You Love?' - Isa Genzken in conversation with Wolfgang Tillmans”

“My last wife was very competitive, which was hard for both of us.”

“It is as though she wakes up every morning, or every month or so, and decides who she will become.”

“Like Baudelaire said of Honoré Daumier in 'The Painter of Modern Life', Isa is the artist of modern life seeing her time and transcending it simultaneously, with no separation.. .It is radical, not easy to do.”

“Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art should be strong and nonconformist—and most importantly, art should always be personal.”

“Personally, I don't believe in having expectations, but I can say that, regarding my exterior sculptures, I will only exhibit sculptures in the future that will enrich their surroundings.”

“Considering that Beuys was born in a small German town called Kleve and I was born in another small German town called Bad Oldesloe, I believe that even an airport can be an inspiring place for an artist. A Nobel Prize laureate once said something along the lines of, 'The more one travels, the more intelligent one becomes,' however, I think that you can still travel a lot and remain sheltered.”

“For me personally, the greatest art to date has been created in New York and the most uptight and conventional art in Berlin. Obviously, I am an exception to this rule! [living and working in Berlin]”

“Yes, throughout our marriage [with Gerhard Richter during 1982 - 1993], we influenced each other mutually. We didn't have a student-teacher kind of relationship.”

“Because it's exactly this kind of role reversal that I'm interested in, and then it actually makes it a challenge for the viewer. Also, because most artists work in a completely different way.”

“One time I even said to him [ Joseph Beuys ], 'Architecture is a catastrophe in Germany; we've got to change that.' And he told me, 'Go ahead, you can always sign for me if you ever need to.' I've never taken him up on the offer, though!”

“Well, I knew I was an artist the moment I woke up in my mother's belly and, as an artist, I shouldn't have to give interviews.. ..in some parts of the world, you get scrutinized for saying the wrong thing about art and in other regions, you get scrutinized for saying nothing at all.”

“I was so disappointed at first [visiting the pyramids in Egypt, in her 20s], because they looked so small, but then when you approached them, they got so big. It's an amazing effect.”

“She [Isa's mother] called up Lufthansa and said, 'I have this daughter, you see, and she needs airplane windows,' she said. That's how she did it.”

“I like to work alone, because it irritates me if people say something stupid — I just can’t stand it.. .I have a Polish guy who comes in and cleans the studio, but pretty much no one else. [talking over a cappuccino, at the Museum of Modern Art New York, during her show there in 2013]”

“I tell you, wind is the most difficult thing to put into an object.. ..here it's a bit more in this next sculpture [on Michael Jackson]”

“It [the first work in her show 'Wind'] is dedicated to Jasper Johns – I named it 'Homage à Jasper Johns'. As he basically did these 'flags', I mean he is so famous because of 'flags', and I was thinking of a flag too, and so I did this, so I was thinking of him because he's so incredibly famous and I'm not. [both laugh].”

“You know that I don't give interviews much? There were just a few – with Lawrence Weiner, with Danny MacDonald that I published with in the 'I Love New York, Crazy City book' – do you know this one? And also the 2005 interview with Wolfgang Tillmans for 'Artforum' – that was one I particularly enjoyed. I was always a bit scared to do an interview, especially with Lawrence Weiner, I mean, he is just so articulate – he can really speak about the work so well! And did you see this interview I did with Kai Althoff – 'Why I don’t do interviews?'”

“Another difficult thing that I experience is when after such a year of activity I have to empty my studio – completely. And I have found that this part only gets harder. You might think it gets easier, but I really just find it gets harder.”