CINDY SHERMAN

The exhibition will include the groundbreaking ‘Untitled Films Stills’ (1977 – 1980), through which Sherman came to widespread notoriety as one of the ‘Pictures Generation’, artists whose work responded to the age of mass media and celebrity. This pivotal series will be juxtaposed with Sherman’s large-format portrayals of film stars, starlets, society women and fashionistas, from various series made over subsequent decades, addressing the layered presentation and public perception of femininity.

The exhibition takes its title from the 1936 all-female hit play by Clare Boothe Luce, a merciless ensemble piece about women’s interactions with women, of their own and different classes, and of appearances. As the 20th century cult of fame and celebrity has transitioned into the 21^st century context of influencers and social media stars, Sherman’s deconstructions of gender, wealth and privilege remain of acute relevance. This exhibition offers a rare presentation of Sherman’s enduring concern with the interaction between female roles and images, with the diversity of womanhood, and the gaze(s) to which women are relentlessly subjected.