Subjects of Life
Photography Mudam Collection

Nan Goldin, Käthe in the tub, West Berlin, 1984, Photo Remi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

As part of the ongoing series of presentations dedicated to the Mudam Collection, Subjects of Life highlights a selection of emblematic artworks from the museum’s collection of photography. This selection encourages a reflection on the medium through questions of representation and the effects of the image on our perception of reality, notions of territory, and the represented subject. Including works by twelve artists from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America, the presentation also underscores the varying approaches to photography within the broader scope of contemporary art practice.

 

Kyoichi Tsuzuki, Happy Victims: Paul and Joe. 2001/2002, Photo Kyoichi Tsuzuki

Mitra Tabrizian, Tehran 2006, 2006, Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2008, Mudam Luxembourg

This new display includes important early acquisitions for the Mudam Collection such as 18 Hauts Fourneaux by Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Vitrines, Luxembourg by Valérie Belin, whose black and white images, respectively, draw on the systematic procedures of Conceptual Art and the history of photography in the work of Eugène Atget. The color photographs by British photographer Martin Parr, move between the world of photojournalism and visual art to capture with acerbity aspects of contemporary social life.

 

Roland Fischer, O.T. (Los Angeles portraits), 1991

Pasha Rafiym, NYC GHOST IX, 2008, Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Production 2008 / Martin Parr, Luxembourg, 2006 / Magnum Photos

Operating somewhere between investigation and fiction, Sophie Calle and Pasha Rafiy exploit, through their respective tours around Venice and New York, the narrative potential of images, while the fanciful staging of anonymous fashion aficionados by Kyoichi Tsuzuki recreates a new reality. His images, which reveal as much their personalities in a sensitive manner, find resonance in the intimist atmosphere of the portraits of Nan Goldin, while the recently acquired 22 portraits by Wolfgang Tillmans evoke the painterly traditions of portraiture in which the public figure and the anonymity of the personal wistfully collide.

 

Shirin Neshat, Guardians of Revolution, 1994, Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Apport FOCUNA © Shirin Neshat, Photo Christof Weber

Bernd & Hilla Becher, 18 Hauts Fourneaux, 1969-1986, Photo Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

rie Belin, Vitrines, Luxembourg, 2003, Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Commission 2004

Artists:

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Valérie Belin, Sophie Calle, Roland Fischer, Nan Goldin, Shirin Neshat, Martin Parr, Pasha Rafiy, Mitra Tabrizian, Wolfgang Tillmans, Kyoichi Tsuzuki

 

Subjects of Life / Photography in the Mudam Collection
Curators: Lisa Baldelli, Marie-Noëlle Farcy
January 31 – September 22, 2019 / Mudam Luxembourg
Visit the exhibition page >

Beyond Fashion
Mar 11 – Jun 4, 2023
The photographers brought together in the exhibition have looked anew at the potential of fashion photography creating an imagery...
+
Seattle International Film Festival
May 11–21, 2023
SIFF has always been a space for discovery and this year's theme celebrates just that, filmmakers and communities from...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .139
Cinco de Mayo
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire. Bobby Sands dies of hunger strike in Prison. Christopher Columbus lands...
+
World Press Photo 2023
Winners & Exhibitions Announced
Representing major events and moments overlooked by the mainstream media in 2022, the 2023 World Press Photo Contest winners...
+
FUTURES / Artists Nominated
Emerging Artists 2023
The new emerging artists selected for 2023 has been announced. The Futures platform members have selected a promising group...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .138
Beauty Is Not Enough
You can no longer quiet me with the redness of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know....
+
Sony World Photography Awards 2023
WINNERS & FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers and artists working in photography. The Awards are regarded...
+
Nicole Eisenman. What Happened
Mar 24 – Sep 10, 2023
Nicole Eisenman, What Happened surveys the entire spectrum of the artist’s three decades of work in painting and sculpture,...
+
Beyond Fashion
Mar 11 – Jun 4, 2023
The photographers brought together in the exhibition have looked anew at the potential of fashion photography creating an imagery...
+
Seattle International Film Festival
May 11–21, 2023
SIFF has always been a space for discovery and this year's theme celebrates just that, filmmakers and communities from...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .139
Cinco de Mayo
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire. Bobby Sands dies of hunger strike in Prison. Christopher Columbus lands...
+
World Press Photo 2023
Winners & Exhibitions Announced
Representing major events and moments overlooked by the mainstream media in 2022, the 2023 World Press Photo Contest winners...
+
FUTURES / Artists Nominated
Emerging Artists 2023
The new emerging artists selected for 2023 has been announced. The Futures platform members have selected a promising group...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .138
Beauty Is Not Enough
You can no longer quiet me with the redness of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know....
+
Sony World Photography Awards 2023
WINNERS & FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers and artists working in photography. The Awards are regarded...
+
Nicole Eisenman. What Happened
Mar 24 – Sep 10, 2023
Nicole Eisenman, What Happened surveys the entire spectrum of the artist’s three decades of work in painting and sculpture,...
+
  • METAmorphosis / OGR Award
    May 17, 2023
    Artissima / OGR
    Turin, Italy

    Launched during the 2022 edition of Artissima, the METAmorphosis project is the second episode of Beyond Production – a conceptual platform born from the collaboration between Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT and Artissima, in dialogue with the OGR Award, with the aim of stimulating and promoting reflections on the most innovative trends in contemporary art. (more…)