Sale: 540 / Evening Sale, June 09. 2023 in Munich Lot 62

 

62
Cindy Sherman
Untitled Film Still #7, 1978.
Black-and-white Photography
Estimate:
€ 80,000 / $ 86,400
Sold:
€ 330,200 / $ 356,616

(incl. surcharge)
Untitled Film Still #7. 1978.
Black-and-white Photography.
Signed, dated, numbered and inscribed on the reverse. From an edition of 10 copies. 25.3 x 20.3 cm (9.9 x 7.9 in), size of sheet.

• Cindy Sherman's ‘Untitled Film Stills’ is a series of black-and-white photographs in which the artist masquerades as different female movie characters.
• Cindy Sherman reconstructs scenes from the Hollywood of the 1950s/60s that are not necessarily based on actual movies, but still give the viewer a feeling of a deja vue.
• Copies are at, among others, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
.

PROVENANCE: Metro Pictures, New York.
Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia.

EXHIBITION: Selection:
Speglingar, Kulturhuset Stockholm, January 24 - April 18, 2004.
Das 8. Feld. Geschlechter, Leben und Begehren in der Kunst seit 1960, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, August 19 - November 12, 2006.
Die zu sein scheint, die bin ich, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, September 17 - November 26, 2016.
Cindy Sherman, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, September 23, 2020 - January 3, 2021.

The so-called "Untitled Film Stills" (1977-1980) made Cindy Sherman famous. In the photographs, she presents herself as an actress in fictional film scenes from the Hollywood of the 1950s and 60s, from Film Noir, B movies and European arthouse films. She was inspired by the looks of fabulous Hollywood actresses such as Liz Taylor or Eva Gardner, Audrey Hepburn and Lauren Bacall, as well as by European cinema luminaries like Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Simone Signoret, Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. What is particularly striking about the works is that Cindy Sherman achieves an emotional effect with every shot of a deceptively real film scene that nonetheless stems from her own imagination. She stages characters, defines the stage design, sets up the artificial light, chooses an appropriate outfit, finally conveys exaggerated film clichés and creates photos characterized by her own mysterious aesthetics.

A woman with short dark hair, sunglasses, a white undergarment, white overknees and white high-heeled shoes standing in the frame of an open sliding door, her upper body slightly bent forwards. With her right hand she lifts the undergarment to loosen the suspender, with her left arm she pushes a curtain panel aside and at the same time supports herself on the window frame, while she holds a martini glass in her hand. She is about to move out of the darkness of the room behind her onto the terrace, blinded by the sun, as it seems. Somebody seems to be sitting in an armchair in the bottom left in the foreground, a large straw hat conceals the person, the shoulders are covered, the identity remains hidden. We can only speculate about the film and the respective scene supposedly documented by the photograph. The martini glass in her hand, her look and posture in the doorway suggest a long, excessive night with lots of alcohol. Cindy Sherman plays a mature woman who, irritated by the moment of bright sunlight, seems to be looking for some fresh air out on the terrace.

Depicting herself in such roles, Sherman opens up a dialogue about stereotypical representations of women in order to examine the role of women in history and society in the 1980s. Her paintings range from the beautiful to the grotesque; she uses elaborate costumes, extensive makeup, and wigs to create her characters, and in recent years has employed digital tools to manipulate her imagery. Sherman has participated in several Venice and Whitney Biennials, and her works have been on display at renowned institutions around the world. She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and her works regularly fetch seven figure prices on the secondary market. [MvL]



62
Cindy Sherman
Untitled Film Still #7, 1978.
Black-and-white Photography
Estimate:
€ 80,000 / $ 86,400
Sold:
€ 330,200 / $ 356,616

(incl. surcharge)