Antonia Kühn, born in 1979, is a Hamburg located illustrator. After graduating from university she went to live in New York for a while and after that took an around the world trip with her colleague Julia Wolf. Together they formed the collaboration "twocollect" that combined travel and work. After the return Antonia deepened her desire for illustration and now provides her work in many different scopes, such as magazines, environments, fashion and branding.

How would you describe your personal style?
Dense, narrative and humorous.

When you were a child, did you want to become an illustrator?
By all means. I never thought of something else.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Almost everywhere. If I'm not too much concentrated on one special thing. I seek stimulation from my whole environment. This could be people passing by, a good movie, conversations with friends or even a delicious meal can give me some kind of inspiration. But if I'm at the last stage of a project I also even stop listening to music and want to put all my attention on this. At this certain moment I feel no need for more input.

Could you describe your working process?
For me there is no particular recipe for generating new work. First reason for this is probably my irresistible drive to invent always a brand new thing. And although I know that this is kind of impossible and childish, this is always the first impulse if I step into a new project. My favourite technique is still drawing on paper. Computer is good for research though, but to recreate a new world the very first step I always do with a pen. I consider the tracks of pens, scratches in the paper and structure of lead as a sign of vibrancy and immanence.

What would be the ideal working setup for you?
I feel like I already reached a very high standard of working space. I have two different desktops, one exclusive for drawing and another one for my computer stuff. This permits me to transit very flexibly from one media to the other. The funny thing is that I always feel like I do not have enough pens, which is so wrong. I have hundreds, but everytime I enter a stationery shop I buy another one.

What do you love the most about your life as an illustrator?
The best thing about being an illustrator is that I can always articulate my thoughts. Immediately. Sometimes drawing is faster and more direct than writing. This is a great concept of expression and communication.

If you had to do something totally different for living, what would it be?
Very good question. To be honest I never thought very much about this before, because I'm exactly doing what I desire to do. But another possible option would be working with other people, maybe physiotherapist or something similar. Please don't get me wrong, of course my job also offers the possibility to work with other people and I'm always really happy to act in a team. But especially drawing is often a lonesome existence.

What kind of music do you listen while working?
Actually I really love to listen to the radio while I'm working. I love to be surprised by interesting radioshows and to explore new music. My all-time favorites are David Bowie, Sigur Ros and Sonic Youth.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?
I guess this would be New York - again. In 2006 I lived there for half a year and enjoyed every single millisecond.

Who are you all-time favorite artists?
Egon Schiele, Max Ernst and Louise Bourgeois, besides many others.

Who has been the most inspiring non-artistic person for you?
In general I'm always deeply impressed by people who enjoy their profession or simple being. I think this is a very great gift and hard work too.

What is the most bizarre dream you ever had?
I love to dream and always try to remember it. Right now I can't recollect a special bizarre one. But last time I dreamt that I was invited to celebrate the wedding of a friend of mine. After a very opulent ceremony I was asked by the witness to play a serenade for the newly-wedded couple. They put me in front of a xylophone and I had no idea what to do because I'm an extremely unmusical person. For some reason I started playing quite well and everything seemed fine, but after a minute the instrument started growing and growing and I had to jump to reach the single notes. The xylophone rose giant after a while and I had to run miles to catch the tones. Probably one of those "I can't achieve what somebody is expecting from me-nightmares", but at least I woke up with a big smile in my face.

If you could meet any great name from known human history, who would it be?
Ingmar Bergman, besides many others.

Thank you!