“Joel Sternfeld: American Prospects.”

 ​​​​​​​Beauty, sadness andnhumor are woven through complex portraits ofAmerica in “Joel Sternfeld: American Prospects.” On view at the Bruce Museum Oct. 3, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025, the exhibition is an ode to the artist’s 1987 landmark photography book, “AmericanProspects,”and coincides with a new edition published bySteidl Press.

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The Bruce will mount more than 40 large-scale color prints, ranging fromSternfeld’smost iconic images to never-before-exhibited photographs.Sternfeld(American, b. 1944)was an early adopter of color photography as fine art. Hee xploredt he medium’s potential in the 1960s and 70s with a small cohort of pioneers,including William Eggleston, Helen Levitt and Stephen Shore.

Sternfeld initiallyfocusedon New York street photography andwas awarded a GuggenheimFellowshipin 1978.Longing to explore beyondthe confines of the urban grid, the award supported hispurchaseofa Volkswagen camper and awooden 8 x 10 view camera,his tools as heembarked on amulti-year quest tocapturescenesacross the country.The work of documentaryphotographers Walker Evans and Robert FrankinspiredSternfeldtoobserve people and places across the United States andrecord what was great, vital andregenerative about the nation.

Despite sensing deep fissuresand contradictions in the country atthe time, he went on the road with a sense of optimism and discovery, delighting in the curious,bizarre and accidental moments in everyday life.Sternfeld traversed the nation from 1978 to 1987, taking thousands of photographs. His large-format view camera accommodated 8 x 10-inch sheets of color negative film, with a smallshutter opening that achieved great depth of field. Ansel Adams and Edward Weston used thesame methods in their famous black-and-white photographs,producing razor-sharp detail and aninfinite range of tones. Sternfeld’s pictures were composed carefully around color harmoniesoften focusing on pastel hues of two or three dominant colors and were guided by a strong senseof geometry and order despite the visual chaos of life they portrayed.The resulting images revealed beautiful land and the eternal cycle of the seasons, damagedlandscapes and industry in declineand the variety and resiliency of the American people.

Theartist has referred to theunderlying theme of his workasthe utopian vision of Americacontrasted with the dystopian one.The first edition of “American Prospects” featured55imagescreated fromfour-color platesthat capture both America’s beauty and its flaws. The book waspublished to wide acclaim and is regarded as an important early monument of color photography.“

Joel Sternfelddeveloped a unique aesthetic for the use of color and a distinctive personalvision,” said guest curatorRobert Wolterstorff, the former Susan E.Lynchexecutivedirectorofthe Bruce Museum. “His powerful imagesare imbued with a sense of irony anddepict a visionof Americansthat is as complicated as the nation, inviting contemplation on ideas of paradiseversus reality through modern conceptions of landscape.”“American Prospects”includesa 1978 photograph of a farm market in McLean, Virginia thatdepicts a uniformed fireman shopping for pumpkins as a house fire rages in the background, theautumnal colors coordinating with the flames.

Published in Life magazine, the absurd image isone of the most recognized scenes of Sternfeld’s career. Other subjects include an elephantcollapsed on a road in Washington state, clouds approaching a busy waterpark in Florida and thelanding of the spaceshuttle Columbia at Kelly Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.Sternfeld’s work capturesdetails ofspecific moments in time, serving as an archive for the futureas well as acaution toward photography’s manipulative power. In a 2004 interviewwithTheGuardian, 

Sternfeld said,“No individual photo explains anything. That's what makesphotography such a wonderful and problematic medium. It is the photographer's job to get thismedium to say what you need it to say.”Sternfeldis based in New York andteaches at Sarah Lawrence College.Heis the recipient ofnumerous awards, includingtwo Guggenheim Fellowships andtheRome Prize.His work hasbeen exhibited in institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), theArt Institute of Chicago (Chicago), the Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria) and the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco).

Nan Goldin.

CHRISTIE'S

Pawel's Back, East Hampton, 1996

EstimateUSD 5,000 - 7,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Greer and Robert on the bed, New York City, 1982

EstimateUSD 8,000 - 12,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

French Chris on convertible, NYC, 1979

EstimateUSD 7,000 - 9,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Ballad Triptych

EstimateUSD 100,000 - 150,000

Price RealisedUSD 218,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait in Kimono with Brian, NYC, 1983

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 115,920

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Cookie Mueller

EstimateUSD 80,000 - 120,000

Price RealisedUSD 81,900

Nan Goldin (née en 1953)

Nan and Brian on the bed, New York, 1983

EstimateEUR 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedEUR 52,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Nan and Brian in Bed, N.Y.C., 1983

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 63,000

Nan Goldin (b. 1953)

Hair

EstimateUSD 30,000 - 40,000

Price RealisedUSD 47,500

NAN GOLDIN (b. 1953)

Black

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 45,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Greer and Robert in the bed, NYC

EstimateUSD 8,000 - 12,000

Price RealisedUSD 43,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Nan & Brian in Bed, NYC

EstimateUSD 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedUSD 43,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Misty & Jimmy Paulette in a Taxi, NYC

EstimateUSD 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedUSD 43,750

Nan Goldin (B. 1953)

Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the Bathroom, NYC 1991

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 40,000

Nan Goldin (b. 1953)

Odalisque

EstimateUSD 30,000 - 40,000

Price RealisedUSD 37,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

CZ and Max on the beach, Truro, MA, 1976

EstimateUSD 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedUSD 35,280

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the bathroom, NYC

EstimateUSD 7,000 - 10,000

Price RealisedUSD 32,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Nan after being battered, 1984

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 27,720

Nan Goldin (b. 1953)

Self portrait in my blue bathroom, Berlin

EstimateGBP 8,000 - 12,000

Price RealisedGBP 12,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Crazy Scary, 2011-2014

EstimateUSD 30,000 - 40,000

Price RealisedUSD 25,200

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait in the Blue Mirror, Berlin

EstimateUSD 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedUSD 25,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

French Chris at the Drive-In, New Jersey

EstimateUSD 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedUSD 23,750

Nan Goldin (née en 1953)

Anthony by the sea, Brighton, England, 1979

EstimateEUR 7,000 - 9,000

Price RealisedEUR 18,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait Alone

EstimateUSD 20,000 - 30,000

Price RealisedUSD 22,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Cookie at Tin Pan Alley, NYC, 1983

EstimateUSD 4,000 - 6,000

Price RealisedUSD 22,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait

EstimateUSD 18,000 - 25,000

Price RealisedUSD 22,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Valérie, Axel and Johanna at Le Pulp

EstimateEUR 5,000 - 7,000

Price RealisedEUR 21,420

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

French Chris on the convertible, New York City, 1979

EstimateEUR 7,000 - 9,000

Price RealisedEUR 16,250

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Gilles and Gotscho

EstimateGBP 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedGBP 12,500

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

French Chris on convertible, NYC, 1979

EstimateEUR 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedEUR 18,900

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Guido on the Dock, Venice

EstimateUSD 7,000 - 10,000

Price RealisedUSD 20,000

Nan Goldin (B. 1953)

Self Portrait in Kimono with Brian

EstimateUSD 8,000 - 12,000

Price RealisedUSD 20,000

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

Breakfast in bed, Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo, Florence, Italy, 1996

EstimateEUR 7,000 - 9,000

Price RealisedEUR 16,250

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

Self-portrait in blue bathroom, London, 1980

EstimateEUR 5,000 - 7,000

Price RealisedEUR 17,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait in Kimono with Brian, NYC, 1983

EstimateUSD 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedUSD 18,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Greer and Robert on the Bed NYC

EstimateGBP 5,000 - 7,000

Price RealisedGBP 13,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Couple in Bed, Chicago

EstimateUSD 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedUSD 17,500

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Greer and Robert on the Bed, 1982

EstimateUSD 5,000 - 7,000

Price RealisedUSD 17,500

Nan Goldin (b. 1953)

Self Portrait in the Mirror, The Lodge, Belmont, Ma., 1988

EstimateUSD 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedUSD 17,500

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

Self-Portrait on the Train, Germany, 1992

EstimateEUR 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedEUR 15,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Casta Diva 1993-95/2000

EstimateUSD 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedUSD 16,250

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Joana with Valerie and Reine in the Mirror, L'Hotel des Beaux Arts, Paris, 1999

EstimateUSD 10,000 - 15,000

Price RealisedUSD 16,250

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Ivy in Boston Garden (back view) Boston

EstimateUSD 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedUSD 16,250

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Self-Portrait in Blue Bathroom, London, 1980

EstimateGBP 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedGBP 12,500

NAN GOLDIN (NÉE EN 1953)

Anthony by the Sea, Brighton, England, 1979

EstimateEUR 7,000 - 9,000

Price RealisedEUR 13,750

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Greer and Robert on the bed, New York City, 1982

EstimateUSD 12,000 - 18,000

Price RealisedUSD 15,000

Nan Goldin (B. 1953)

Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the bathroom, NYC 1991.

EstimateUSD 15,000 - 20,000

Price RealisedUSD 15,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

French Chris at the Drive-in, NJ

EstimateUSD 7,000 - 10,000

Price RealisedUSD 15,000

NAN GOLDIN (B. 1953)

Risé and Monty Kissing, NYC

EstimateUSD 6,000 - 8,000

Price RealisedUSD 15,000

Nan Goldin (née en 1953)

Joey at the Love Ball, NYC, 1991

EstimateEUR 7,000 - 9,000

Price RealisedEUR 11,875

Showing 50 of 187

SWANN

Lot 221: Nan Goldin, My Hotel Room, Valencia, Spain, 1987, printed 1996. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well

Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berli

23 November 2024 – 6 April 2025

A special exhibition by 

 Pirelli HangarBicocca in Mila

 (9 October 2025 - 15 February 2026 

Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais, Paris 

(March - June 2026).

Neue Nationalgalerie’s retrospective is the first exhibition in Germany to present a comprehensive overview of Goldin’s work as a filmmaker. The exhibition is installed in six unique buildings designed by Hala Wardé, an architect who frequently works with Goldin. Each building is designed in response to the specific piece. Together they constitute a village. “I have always wanted to be a filmmaker. My slideshows are films made up of stills,” says Nan Goldin.

The exhibition is comprised of: “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” (1981–2022), her magnum opus; “The Other Side” (1992– 2021), a historical portrait produced as an homage to her trans friends whom she photographed 1972–2010; “Sisters, Saints and Sibyls” (2004–2022), a testament to the trauma of families and suicide; “Fire Leap” (2010–2022), a foray into the world of children; “Memory Lost” (2019–2021), a claustrophobic journey through drug withdrawal; and “Sirens” (2019– 2020), a trip into drug ecstasy.

Nan Goldin (born in Washington D.C. in 1953) is one of the most high- profile artists of our time. Her work's exploration of the human experience is legendary and has profoundly influenced subsequent generations. Her first work, “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency”, documents life in Provincetown, the Lower East Side of New York City, Berlin and London beginning in the 1970s and 80s and up to the present day. Goldin photographed the world of her inner circle of creative, bohemian friends with raw tenderness. Her photographs give us snapshots of intimacy and coupling, the quotidian and wild parties, and the struggle between autonomy and dependency.

The core of Goldin’s artistic practice

Of the generation whose experiences were defined by the freedom of life before AIDS and an alternative world outside normative society, Goldin’s work also stands as a document of the times. Around 1980 Goldin began presenting her slideshows in various clubs and public venues in New York, as well as at underground cinemas and film festivals in Europe. She updated and reedited her slideshow every time and used multiple projectors, which she operated against the background of an eclectic soundtrack. Goldin’s ability to revisit these slideshows has since formed the core of her artistic practice. Over the past 40 years Goldin has produced a dozen different slideshows – from portraits of her friends to accounts of traumatic family events. Since then, she has added elements into her works such as moving images, voices and archival materials.

Taking photographs is solely permitted for the current press coverage of the exhibition/event. For any further use of photos you are required to clarify issues of copyright and usage rights independently in advance. You are responsible for obtaining further rights (e.g. copyrights for works of art portrayed, personal rights etc.).

Nan Goldin has always grappled with social issues such as gender, mental health and AIDS, albeit through various approaches. “Memory Lost” which also forms part of the current exhibition, is an evocation of the darkest sides of drug addiction. In 2017 Goldin founded P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), a direct action group that specifically targeted the Sackler family. The group holds the billionaire family accountable for igniting the epidemic opioid overdose crisis. The Sacklers are a major donor to many prominent international museums. However, many of these institutions have reacted to pressure from P.A.I.N. and removed all trace of the Sackler name from their premises. Alongside Goldin’s influence on art and the art world, it is also difficult to think of today’s fashion and advertising photography without reflecting on her ground- breaking paradigms of visual expression.

Ironic humour and warmth

While the title of the exhibition “This Will Not End Well” may seem dark and foreboding, it is also full of ironic humour and warmth. The title is an affirmation of what Fredrik Liew, curator for the retrospective, describes as Goldin’s ’characteristically unshakeable joie de vivre.’

Nan Goldin and Berlin

Nan Goldin has a very special relationship with Berlin: the Arsenal cinema showed her “Ballad of Sexual Dependency” back in 1982. In 1991, she received a DAAD scholarship, moved to the city and has been returning ever since: "The best years of my life were here in Berlin," Goldin said in 2010. "I don't say that lightly. I've been looking for a home all my life. The only place I feel myself and comfortable and feel real love for my friends is Berlin."

The international tour

“This Will Not End Well” started as a comprehensive international exhibition tour at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm (29 October 2022–26 February 2023), travelled to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (31 August 2023–28 January 2024) and opens now at the Neue National- galerie in Berlin (23 November 2024–6 April 2025); It continues afterwards to the Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan (9 October 2025 - 15 February 2026) and Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais, Paris (March - June 2026).

Exhibition catalogue and book

A comprehensive catalogue is produced to accompany the exhibition, with 216 pages, 140 of which are illustrated, and texts by Vince Aletti, Thomas Beard, Guido Costa, Marvin Heiferman, Roni Horn, Patrick Radden Keefe, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Fredrik Liew, Andrea Lissoni, Gabor Maté, Cookie Mueller, Eileen Myles, Alfred Pacquement, Darryl Pinckney, Rene Ricard, Lucy Sante, Sarah Schulman, Anne Swärd, Hala Wardé and David Wojnarowicz. The catalogue is published in English and is distributed internationally by Steidl Verlag.

During the exhibition a limited edition of a book will also be published: a nine-volume series that reproduces all Goldin’s slide shows and multimedia projects including textual work with contributions from various authors, who offer their perspectives on the artist’s voluminous output. Both the catalogue and the book are published by Moderna Museet in collaboration with Steidl Verlag.

Curatorial

The exhibition is organized by Moderna Museet, in collaboration with Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Stedejlik Museum, Amsterdam, Pirelli Hang- arBicocca, Milan and Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais, Paris. Curated by Fredrik Liew, Chief Curator, Moderna Museet. 

 

Nan Goldin, Self-portrait with eyes turned inward, Boston, 1989, Photography from the series “Sisters, Saints and Sybils” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, The Hug, New York City, 1980, Photography from the series “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Picnic on the Esplanade, Boston, 1973, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Gina at Bruce’s dinner party, NYC, 1991, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, C as Madonna in the dressing room, Bangkok, 1992, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Sunny in my room, Paris, 2009, Photography © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well, Ausstellungsansicht / Exhibition view, Neue Nationalgalerie, 2024, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well, Ausstellungsansicht / Exhibition view, Neue Nationalgalerie, 2024, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

Nan Goldin, Brian and Nan in Kimono, 1983, Photography from the series “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Christmas at The Other Side, Boston, 1972, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Greer modeling jewelry, NYC, 1985, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Fashion show at Second Tip, Toon, C, So and Yogo, Bangkok, 1992, Photography from the series “The Other Side” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Elephant mask, Boston, 1985, Photography from the series “Fire Leap” © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin, Untitled, 1982, Photography from the series „Memory Lost“ © Nan Goldin. Courtesy the artist

Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well, Ausstellungsansicht / Exhibition view, Neue Nationalgalerie, 2024, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well, Ausstellungsansicht / Exhibition view, Neue Nationalgalerie, 2024, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

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