“However, naiveté cannot deny the fact that Lawler, Sherman and Simmon’s photographs are constructed. They are images made by women in a period of time that is permeated with imagery. These artists have grown up in the first real TV generation, in front of a glowing television screen. Their time has been characterized by a generation gap, between parents and children, the likes of which had never been seen before. Their – and their contemporaries – adolescence coincided with a comprehensive exposure to photographic and cinematic images. Therefore, we also see that many of the artists of this generation have worked both with and against the media’s imagery, in an attempt to discover how pictures work and influence.

(…)

Louise Lawler, Cindy Sherman and Laurie Simmons all consciously work with themes and formal aspects of art history. Lawler’s main theme is the art world and it’s museums, galleries, private collections and auctions, and Sherman and Simmons share an apparent connection to not only performance art and the body-related art of the 70’s, but also with a seemingly direct extension of surrealistic themes and procedures.”

Through the use of conceptual tools and photography, the exhibition examined power structures, ownership, and the institutional frameworks of art. By deconstructing popular culture and socio-cultural constructions, the project aimed to spark new debate regarding gender equality and the role of women in society. The exhibition featured works on loan from galleries and collectors in the US and Europe, with special support from the gallery Metro Pictures in New York.

Lawler, Simmons, and Sherman are all part of The Pictures Generation, a loosely defined group of artists who established themselves in American art around 1980. They belong to the first generation to grow up with modern mass media and utilized techniques from film and advertising to explore perceptions of reality and representation. The group emerged as a counterpart to a male-dominated and formalist art scene.

Louise Lawler (b. 1947, New York) is an American artist and photographer known for her installations and performance works. Lawler is a central figure within appropriation art, where she photographs other artworks and places them in new contexts to highlight the conceptual possibilities of the photographic medium.

Laurie Simmons (b. 1949, New York) is an American photographer and filmmaker who works with psychologically charged tableaux. Through the use of dolls and props, she explores the boundaries between the artificial and the real, with a particular focus on identity, domestic life, and how women are often objectified.

Cindy Sherman (b. 1954, New Jersey) is an American artist who examines socio-cultural constructions through photography. She frequently uses herself as a model to deconstruct female archetypes and popular cultural imagery, and is one of the most influential figures in postmodern photography.