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Cindy Sherman
American • b. 1954
Biography
Seminal to the Pictures Generation as well as contemporary photography and performance art, Cindy Sherman is a powerhouse art practitioner. Wily and beguiling, Sherman's signature mode of art making involves transforming herself into a litany of characters, historical and fictional, that cross the lines of gender and culture. She startled contemporary art when, in 1977, she published a series of untitled film stills.
Through mise-en-scène and movie-like make-up and costume, Sherman treats each photograph as a portrait, though never one of herself. She embodies her characters even if only for the image itself. Presenting subversion through mimicry, against tableaus of mass media and image-based messages of pop culture, Sherman takes on both art history and the art world.
Though a shape-shifter, Sherman has become an art world celebrity in her own right. The subject of solo retrospectives across the world, including a blockbuster showing at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and a frequent exhibitor at the Venice Biennale among other biennials, Sherman holds an inextricable place in contemporary art history.
Insights
Sherman holds two of the top 10 records for fine art photography at auction.
Sherman had a rare cameo as herself in John Waters' film, Pecker.
Though one of contemporary art's most revered women artists, Sherman did not specifically self-align with the feminist movement of her generation.
"I feel I'm anonymous in my work. When I look at the pictures, I never see myself...Sometimes I disappear."