Cindy Sherman, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh

Cindy Sherman 
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh 
6 December 2003 – 7 March 2004

The first ever solo exhibition of the work of internationally renowned artist Cindy Sherman in Scotland opens at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Organised by the Serpentine Gallery in London, this fascinating show is also Cindy Sherman’s first survey exhibition in the UK for a decade. Around fifty photographs are brought together in Cindy Sherman, spanning thirty years of the artist’s career and including her latest works.

Cindy Sherman (b.1954) is widely recognised as one of the leading artists of our time. Although never interested in making self-portraits, Sherman shapes her own image with a bewildering array of disguises, using make-up techniques, wigs, costumes and prosthetics to create the subjects of her photographs.

Cindy Sherman’s provocative and intriguing portraiture often explores the themes surrounding female identity and stereotype in Western culture. Her work has been hugely influential on a younger generation of photographic and performance artists, raising her to iconic status in contemporary art.

Cindy Sherman first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with her series Untitled Film Stills – black-and-white photographs in which she imitated both the performers and settings of Hollywood B-movies, combining the roles of director, photographer and leading actress. In the 1980s she began to work on a larger scale and in colour, making reference to art history, fashion photography, television, horror movies and pornography. Recently she has created a series of portraits of ‘ordinary’ women with extraordinary character. 

The exhibition also provides an opportunity to view Cindy Sherman’s latest works for the first time in Scotland. Turning her attention to clowns, she examines costume and pretence in its most exaggerated and caricatural form.

Richard Calvocoressi, Director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, says: “We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with the Serpentine Gallery by bringing this exhibition to Scotland, and her first Scottish audience. Cindy Sherman is an outstanding contemporary artist.”

The landmark exhibition is being extended to include a specially produced display of Cindy Sherman’s work at Omni, Greenside Place, Edinburgh. Originally seen in London, the series of ten large billboards were commissioned collaboratively by the Serpentine Gallery and London Underground’s public art programme ‘Platform for Art’. The Billboard Commission comprises specially produced versions of Sherman’s works made between 1983 and 2002 and will be on view at Omni from 7 January to 7 March 2003. 

Cindy Sherman launches a series of exhibitions and displays at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art – throughout 2004-5, ‘A Year of American Art’ features work by some of the giants of postwar and contemporary American art, including Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol.

A fully illustrated catalogue will be available to accompany the show, published by the Serpentine Gallery and priced at £14.95. 

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART 
Belford Road, Edinburgh
www.nationalgalleries.org