Artists Anonymous Gunslinger 2007 Lightbox 173x144cm

Artists Anonymous: Yes, we formed our group in Berlin and have been producing art together for a number of years. In addition we opened our first gallery space in London, England in January 2007. After the success of that gallery we came back to Berlin and opened a gallery space that is much bigger than the one we have in London.

Art Interview: It is unusual for artists who already have representation and are already successful at selling on the market to start their own galleries. Why did you do this?

Artists Anonymous: We discovered that although we enjoyed working with other galleries we also needed to present ourselves as a group in a personal way. Since we have taken this direction it has worked out very well for us. We still work well with other galleries and our own galleries are successful. We don’t have to worry about exclusive contracts or commitments. Our gallery also acts as a preview for other galleries that are interested in exhibiting the works of Artists Anonymous. It gives them a perspective of what we are doing and how our art could work in their space. This has proven to be very helpful to us and it was something that came as a complete bonus.

Art Interview: Why did you initially leave Berlin and start a gallery in London?

Artists Anonymous: After working as an artist group for some time in Berlin, the city burnt out for us and we wanted something that was fresher. So we were looking for a studio with a private showroom in London but what we ended up with was a garage, which we converted into a showroom.

Artists Anonymous The Haunch of Venison exhibition Zurich 2008

Artists Anonymous: Nobody really knows why really but there has always been a lot of gossip about what we do. Our art has been on the market for quite a while and we have been talked about from the very beginning. Because we are quite visible, the fact that we had a gallery in London made it around very quickly. Of course we also contacted the press, but we didn’t have any specific contacts at that time. We sort of just threw it up in the wind, which is the way we have always done it actually.

Art Interview: One year after opening your space in London you have returned to Berlin to open an additional gallery. How long did it take to develop and install the opening show?

Artists Anonymous: That’s difficult to say because there was a lot of renovation work to be done both inside and outside of our building in Berlin before we could use it. We have set up installations on the same scale in New York in just over 2 weeks, whereas setting up the building and the space in Berlin took us about 2 months.

Artists Anonymous: They don’t have any of the materials in New York that we have in Berlin. When we were setting up the installation in New York three of us were working in the gallery and one of us spent the whole time running around trying to find the right materials.

Marilyn Manson Hitler Takes a Nap (Some of Hitory's Dictators Have Often Taken 7 minutes to Contemplate War) Watercolor 30 x 22 inches

Art Interview: Artists Anonymous created several huge installations for the opening exhibition in Berlin but there are only a few paintings that are actually marketable. How do you make enough money with such artwork?

Artists Anonymous: The show actually sold out. Part of the way we made money is by releasing original sized prints of the main painting that the show is focused on. We originally wanted to open the gallery with a solo show of work from Artists Anonymous but we decided to also present the artists that we will work with over the next year. We quite often collaborate and incorporate other artists’ work into our own installations. For example, we created a conservative living room around Marilyn Manson’s painting that we are showing; “Hitler Takes a Nap (Some of Hitory's Dictators Have Often Taken 7 minutes to Contemplate War)”. The environment that we created reflects and enhances the nature and content of the installation of Artists Anonymous that we have on the ground floor. We sold everything that Artists Anonymous created and everything from the other artists showing here. So, it is working quite well for us really.

Art Interview: How did you meet Marilyn Manson?

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This oral history transcript is the result of a digitally recorded interview with Artists Anonymous on October 8, 2007. The interview took place at the AA-Gallerie in Berlin, Germany and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine. The biography introducing Artists Anonymous at the beginning of this interview was written by Steve Schepens and Ekaterina Rietz-Rakul for Art Interview Online Magazine.