img. Installation shot of Richard Avedon portraits, 2018 © Daniel Lewensztain, via the Foam website.
Foam is an internationally operating organisation in the field of photography, based in Amsterdam, with a permanent museum, a magazine and activities for talent scouting and education. In the exhibition Structures of Identity – Photography from The Walther Collection Foam presents a selection of photographic works from the famous German-American collection.
Structures of Identity shows how photographers from different periods and diverse cultures have used the power of the portrait to confirm or indeed critically investigate stereotypical ideas about gender, race, status and nationality. The exhibition focuses on the relationship between self-image and social identity as captured by means of photography. Iconic works by photographers including August Sander, Richard Avedon and J.D. Ojeikere are combined with the work of contemporary photographers like Yto Barrada, Samuel Fosso, Zanele Muholi and Guy Tillim. There are also remarkable historical photos by unknown photographers, among which original 150 year old cartes-de-visit of circus artists and other works exploring the role of the portrait in the history of photography.
ABOUT THE WALTHER COLLECTION
The Walther Collection is an art foundation dedicated to the critical understanding of historical and contemporary photography and related media. Through a programme of international exhibitions, in-depth collections, original research, and scholarly publications, The Walther Collection aims to highlight the social uses of photography and to expand the history of the medium.
Visit and revisit Structures of Identity – Photography from The Walther Collection, other exhibitions and events as a Foam Member.
The exhibition is a collaboration between The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm (Germany) and New York (US), and Foam.
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Gemeente Amsterdam, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.
More: https://www.foam.org/museum/programme/structures-of-identity
