Cindy Sherman

28.09.24 - 02.02.25

FOMU presents Belgium’s first major solo of the American artist Cindy Sherman. Featuring more than 100 works from the 1970s to the present, the exhibition offers an exciting overview of this leading contemporary artist’s work.

Untitled #414, 2003, Chromogenic color print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Untitled #414, 2003, Chromogenic color print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Anti-Fashion

Spanning five decades of work divided over multiple floors, the exhibition Anti-Fashion dives deeper into Sherman’s fascination for fashion and the nexus between her independent work and commissions in the fashion industry. Since the 1980s she has worked regularly with leading fashion houses including Comme des Garçons, John Galliano and Balenciaga and fashion magazines such as Vogue, Interview and Harper’s Bazaar. With no interest in glamorous fashion shoots, she creates provocative photos featuring figures that could hardly be called beautiful, thus calling established ideals of beauty into question.

Cindy Sherman - Anti-Fashion is realised by the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart in cooperation with Cindy Sherman’s studio in New York and her gallery Hauser & Wirth.

Untitled #462, 2007/2008, Chromogenic color print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Untitled #462, 2007/2008, Chromogenic color print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth

More on Cindy Sherman's work

In her photographs, Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) looks at identity as a construct, exploring the ways in which women are depicted in mass media. She has served as her own model since the 1970s. In make-up, costumed and disguised, she continually occupies a new identity, taking inspiration from the endless visual clichés on offer in film, television, fashion, magazines, art history and the internet. She exaggerates stereotypes to absurd and even grotesque dimensions to expose rigid conceptions of gender, beauty and ageing. Each time anew, Sherman subjects dominant visual patterns to a critical investigation, always in step with the zeitgeist and continually surprising the viewer with her characters and subjects. With humour and intelligence, she confronts us with reflections of ourselves.

Early Works

Also on view is a presentation of Early Works 1975 – 1980 that sheds light on some of Sherman’s main motivations and ideas. It includes experimental works from her student years and her iconic series Untitled Film Stills, which led to her international breakthrough in the late 1970s.

Cindy Sherman – Early Works 1975-1980 is developed in collaboration with Gabriele Schor, Founding Director of the VERBUND COLLECTION, Vienna.

Untitled Film Still #17, 1978, Gelatin silver print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Untitled Film Still #17, 1978, Gelatin silver print © Cindy Sherman, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth

ENSOR 2024

FOMU’s Cindy Sherman exhibition is part of ENSOR 2024, a year-long programme marking 75 years since James Ensor’s death. Like Ensor, Sherman expresses her critical take on social conventions through masks and disguises.

Discover all exhibitions that are part of ENSOR 2024 in Antwerp.

EXHIBITION TEXTS

You can download the exhibition texts here.

Cindy Sherman_Early Works_Introduction.pdf

PDF - 414 Kb

Cindy Sherman_Early Works_Faces_Doll Clothes_Murder Mystery_Line Up.pdf

PDF - 413 Kb

Cindy Sherman_Early Works_Untitled Film Stills.pdf

PDF - 406 Kb

Cindy Sherman_Anti-Fashion_Introduction.pdf

PDF - 1.0 Mb

Cindy Sherman_Anti-Fashion_exhibition texts.pdf

PDF - 1.6 Mb

BOOK ANTI-FASHION

The book Cindy Sherman - Anti-Fahion to accompany the exhibition is published by Hannibal Books. Hardcover, 184 pages, for sale for € 59.

Information sheet book Anti-Fashion.pdf

PDF - 239 Kb

Snippets book Anti-Fashion.pdf

PDF - 3.9 Mb

PRESS IMAGES

Download the overview of the available press images. You can contact Isabelle Willems to request hi resolution files.

Selection_Press Images_Cindy Sherman_FOMU.pdf

PDF - 306 Kb

For large articles a wider selection of press images is available upon request from Isabelle Willems.

Terms of usage:

  • Press images can only be used specifically and exclusively to promote the exhibition ‘Cindy Sherman’ at FOMU 28.09.24 - 02.02.25 
  • Images may not be cropped, overprinted or changed in any way without prior consent from the copyright holder. ​ 
  • Reproductions are accompanied with the caption and copyright, as listed. 
  • Press images are provided for one-time, end-use only and should be deleted once they have been published. 

Isabelle Willems

Head of press & communication, FOMU - Fotomuseum Antwerpen

 

 

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About FOMU - Fotomuseum Antwerpen

The FOMU Fotomuseum of Antwerp houses one of the most significant photo collections in Europe, featuring both equipment and photo documents. Each year, the FOMU presents several temporary exhibitions by nationally and internationally renowned photographers. 

The museum’s displays change every four months, showcasing photography as a medium that is part of a broader social and cultural context. Visitors can also attend lectures and workshops, visit the museum shop and the museumcafé Pixel. The FOMU can be found in and old warehouse in the neighbourhood ‘t Zuid (South quarter of Antwerp), close to the museum of contemporary art M HKA and the museum of fine arts.

Contact

Waalsekaai 47 2000 Antwerpen België

+32 (0)3 242 93 00

info@fomu.be

www.fomu.be