The work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia (*1951) inhabits a space between documentary and fiction, combining real people and locations with elaborate cinematography. His meticulously executed photographs explore the tensions between candid and fated scenarios, often examining the reality of the so-called American Dream. He is perhaps best known for his iconic series Hustlers, in which he photographed male prostitutes of Los Angeles, using a government grant to pay his subjects, all against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s. Since then he has redefined street photography with his series Streetwork (1993–97)—frozen moments on the sidewalks in cities around the world that capture haunting fragments of urban drama with the vibrant color and detail of Old Master paintings.
Seriously.
Curated by Nana Bahlmann
November 21, 2025–January 31, 2026
London
Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present Seriously., a group exhibition curated by Nana Bahlmann, featuring over a hundred conceptual photographs, print media, and select films ranging from the 1960s to the present, which expose the absurdities of our world and its representations. Through visual wit, subversiveness, and even outright slapstick, these photographic experiments offer humorous conceptual investigations of how images are constructed and interpreted. Employing a range of strategies, from masquerade and role-play to the construction of inexplicable scenarios, unexpected juxtapositions, and idiosyncratic sculptural compositions, these works reveal the farcical and fantastical within the visual realm. In reframing our visual world through satire and playful mimicry, they create space for both reflection and amusement.
Seriously. features the work of, among others, Keith Arnatt, John Baldessari, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Lynda Benglis, Helen Chadwick, Robert Cumming, Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Braco Dimitrijević, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Tom Friedman, Dan Graham, Rodney Graham, Scott Grieger, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Sigurður Guðmundsson, Andreas Gursky, Barbara Hammer, Rebecca Horn, Douglas Huebler, Astrid Klein, David Lamelas, Louise Lawler, Tom Marioni, Anthony McCall, Jonathan Monk, Peter Moore, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, Charles Ray, Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, Thomas Ruff, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Stephen Shore, Santiago Sierra and Franz Erhard Walther, Roman Signer, Laurie Simmons, Robert Therrien, Rosemarie Trockel, Keiji Uematsu, Ger van Elk, John Waters, William Wegman, and Hannah Wilke.
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