Sherman’s exhibition at Sprüth Magers in Berlin marks over three decades and sixteen exhibitions with the gallery. On view is her most recent body of work, created in 2016, and presented here as a complete series for the very first time in Europe. In the large-scale colour portraits, the artist imagines herself as a cast of ‘grandes dames’ from the Golden Age of 1920s Hollywood cinema. Differing from Sherman’s earlier series, these actresses are presented outside of the filmic narrative, posing instead for formal publicity shots. Despite their elaborate garb, coiffed hairdos and painted faces, the leading ladies are clearly in their twilight years, and the grave stoicism of their countenances gives way to instances of poignant vulnerability: fine lines emerge through caked-on make-up, and sinewy, aged hands seem at odds with the smooth polish of their owners’ faces. The actresses pose against digitally manipulated backgrounds that are suggestive of the film sets and backdrops of yesteryear. Skyscrapers, a busy café scene, manicured gardens and a classical landscape all feature within the series. Each photograph has been created through dye sublimation – using heat to transfer dye directly onto metal. The technique removes the necessity for glass protection to the works, making the life-size figures seem more immediate, more vital – emerging from their outmoded stage sets to encroach on our own contemporary world.

Cindy Sherman (*1954 in New Jersey) lives and works in New York. She has held solo exhibitions at institutions including: The Broad, Los Angeles (2016); The Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and Dallas Museum of Art (2012); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2007); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2006/07); Jeu de Paume, Paris (2006); Serpentine Gallery, London (2003).

The Berlin gallery is concurrently presenting the exhibition A Selection of Works from the Betty and Monte Factor Family Collection by Edward and Nancy Kienholz.