The work of American photographer Cindy Sherman is currently being celebrated in two significant solo exhibitions on opposite sides of the world. The Broad contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, USA, is presenting a comprehensive survey of Sherman’s work from 1975 to the present day, while the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane, Australia, is showcasing 56 of the artist’s large-scale photographs from six series, all produced since the year 2000.“I am trying to make other people recognize something of themselves rather than me,” Sherman has said of her celebrated photographic portraits. Throughout her four-decade career, Sherman has continually reaffirmed her status as one of the most relevant and important artists of her time, taking on the multiple roles of hairstylist, makeup artist, director, photographer, and model to create poignant comments on issues of representation, identity, and the role of images in society. One of the most qualified individuals to comment on Sherman’s work is Janelle Reiring, founder of Metro Pictures in New York and one of the artist’s early supporters. Metro Pictures first exhibited Sherman’s work in its opening year in 1980, and continues to represent the artist.BLOUIN ARTINFO caught up with Reiring on the occasion of the exhibition at GOMA and asked her a few questions about the artist and her work. Click on the slideshow to see images of the exhibition.What does the exhibition at GOMA express about the importance of Cindy Sherman's work, particularly that created after 2000?It was the first survey exhibition of Sherman's work that did not begin with the "Untitled Film Stills." Cindy has such a long and productive career that it is difficult to take in the entire trajectory of her work. So I think focusing on the later work since 2000 was a brilliant idea. It allowed the viewer to focus on the radical shifts made in each new series. As familiar as I am with Cindy's work, I saw things I had not noticed before, such as the 2007-2008 "Balenciaga" series, which is the only work Cindy has done that portrays the characters in a totally contemporary setting. Usually the era in which her characters exist is left rather ambiguous.What is the significance of the new works in the exhibition in the context of her overall practice and its development?As Sherman herself has stated, I think the new work marks a departure, in that Sherman is presenting these characters with no protective shield of irony. It is the most raw and revealing work she has done, and there is a real sense of her total empathy and admiration for these characters. And a real sense of her joy in portraying these characters.What does the exhibition reveal about the nature of Sherman's practice and the methods and modes of operation that she uses to achieve such amazing results? I think it becomes very clear that Cindy is an artist who is always questioning what she doing. There is no making of work to please an audience or a market. Though her means of making work are so restricted, she never repeats herself. In each new series she pushes herself to reveal something new.
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