Making Appearences

Making Appearances brings together works by Cindy Sherman, Helen Chadwick, Renate Bertlmann, Lebohang Kganye, Awol Erizku, Zanele Muholi, Tseng Kwong Chi and Martine Gutierrez. Spanning generations, the exhibition traces a dialogue between pioneering figures who redefined photographic representation and contemporary artists who continue to expand its possibilities.

The exhibition brings together three pioneering figures of strong feminist foundation whose practices challenged the visual codes through which identity has traditionally been staged and understood. Central to this dialogue are artists such as Cindy Sherman, whose work unsettles fixed ideas of femininity and selfhood; Renate Bertlmann, who exposes structures of gender and power through provocation and theatricality; Helen Chadwick, whose ‘In the Kitchen’ series stages the domestic interior as a charged site of performance. Tseng Kwong Chi’s performative portraits interrogate self-presentation, cultural persona, and the politics of identity, offering a complementary perspective to the feminist pioneers.

Alongside these works, a younger generation of artists brings renewed urgency to questions of representation. Lebohang Kganye explores memory and inheritance through personal and archival imagery; Awol Erizku blends portraiture, fashion, and art history; Zanele Muholi asserts Black queer presence and challenges dominant narratives of visibility; and Martine Gutierrez pushes photography into fiction and self-mythology through performance. Together, they foreground photography as a medium through which identity is continually constructed and reimagined across generations.

Mandy El-Sayegh’s show is made possible with the generous support of Mandy El-Sayegh and Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery. Making Appearances has been made possible through the generous support of Sprüth Magers, Ben Brown Fine Art, Richard Saltoun Gallery, Yancey Richardson Gallery, Josh Lilley Gallery, Ryan Lee Gallery, and Lebohang Kganye Studio, whose loaned works have been integral in bringing the show to fruition.

Pernilla Holmes, Director at Wedel Art, comments: “Spanning installation, collage, and photography, these exhibitions foreground the many ways identity is assembled and articulated. Mandy El-Sayegh’s immersive ‘takeover’ sits in dialogue with Making Appearances, where artists from Cindy Sherman to Lebohang Kganye interrogate the image as a site of performance, transformation, and self-construction.”

Meher Waney, Director of Membership & Business Development at The Arts Club, comments: “Our spring public programme highlights The Arts Club’s commitment to presenting dynamic and thought-provoking work that is accessible to everyone. Together, these exhibitions offer engaging and layered perspectives on how identity is constructed and perceived today.”

Tseng Kwong Chi
Los Angeles, California (Paramount Pictures), 1979
Silver gelatin print
91.4 x 91.4 cm
Edition of 9 + 2 AP (2/9)

Tseng Kwong Chi
Paris, France (L’Eglise w/ Sam Running), 1983
Silver gelatin print
91.4 x 91.4 cm
Edition of 9 + 2 AP (2/9)

Tseng Kwong Chi
Rome, italy (Coliseum, Night), 1989
Silver gelatin print
91.4 x 91.4 cm
Edition of 9 + 2 AP (3/9)

Lebohang Kganye
Whispers in the Air, 2025
Inkjet print on cotton rag paper,
64 x 90 cm
Edition of 5 + 2 AP

Zanele Muholi
Basizeni X1, Cassilhaus, North Carolina, 2016
Silver gelatin print
Edition of 8 + 2AP
Image size: 80 x 60.9cm
Paper size: 90 x 70.9cm

Renate Bertlmann
René ou Renée – mit Büste
Set of 5 Polaroid photographs
10.7 x 8.8 cm each

Renate Bertlmann
Hokus Focus Fidibus, 1989
Set of 4 unique vintage photographs, each in hand painted artist’s frames
43 x 43 cm each

Tseng Kwong Chi
Lake Moraine, Northwest Territories, 1986
Silver gelatin print
91.4 x 91.4 cm
Edition of 9 + 2 AP (2/9)

Helen Chadwick
In the Kitchen (Washing Machine), 1977
Colour Archival Pigment Print
Framed: 53 x 43 x 4 cm

Helen Chadwick
In the Kitchen (Washing Machine), 1977
Colour Archival Pigment Print.
Framed: 80 x 64.5 x 2.5 cm

Martine Gutierrez Body En Thrall, p122-123 from Indigenous Woman, 2018
C-print mounted on Dibond (diptych)
121.9 x 81.3 cm
Edition of 8, plus 2 AP

Lebohang Kganye
Night’s Unwavering Resolve, 2025
Inkjet print on cotton rag paper,
64 x 90 cm

Cindy Sherman
Untitled #584, 2018
Dye sublimation metal print
106.2 × 163 cm (framed)

Lebohang Kganye
Draped in Shadow, 2025
Inkjet print on cotton rag paper,
64 x 90 cm
Edition of 5 + 2 AP

Awol Erizku
Boy with the Red Turban, 2013
Digital Chromatic print
101.9 x 76.5 cm

Awol Erizku
Lady with a Pitbull, 2009
Digital Chromatic print
101.9 x 76.5 cm

Helen Chadwick
Selection from set of 12 archival pigment prints (printed 2018)
41 x 30.5 cm each
Framed: 48.3 x 38.3 x 3.5 cm each

Lebohang Kganye
Beneath the Deep, 2025
Inkjet print on cotton rag paper,
64 x 90 cm

Martine Gutierrez
Aphrodite from ANTI-ICON: APOKALYPSIS, 2021
C-print mounted on Dibond, hand-distressed welded aluminum frame, optium plexi
Framed dimensions: 141 x 98.4 cm