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Exhibition

Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear

November 11, 2023–March 3, 2024
Floor 7

“The viewer…should enter my work through their own eyes, and their own lives.”
— Wolfgang Tillmans

Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear is the most comprehensive exhibition of the influential artist’s work to date, charting the development of his practice from the 1980s through the present, across every genre of photography imaginable. From early experiments with a photocopier to ecstatic nightlife images, intimate portraits, incisive documentation of social movements, and innovative cameraless abstractions, Tillmans’s broad subject matter reveals his steadfast commitment to engage unflinchingly with the world.

Tillmans plays an integral role in designing and installing his exhibitions. This survey features both framed and unframed photographs arranged in constellations that extend from floor to ceiling, magazine pages taped to the wall, video work, and his Truth Study Center table installations. This approach embraces the concept of visual democracy, where, as Tillmans puts it, “If one thing matters, everything matters.”

Exhibition Preview

Wolfgang Tillmans, Lutz & Alex sitting in the trees, 1992; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Icestorm, 2001; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, San Francisco, 1995; courtesy the artist; David Zwirner, New York/Hong Kong; Galerie Buchholz, Berlin/Cologne; Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, The Cock (kiss), 2002; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Tukan (Toucan), 2010; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Truth Study Center, 2005–Ongoing (installation view, Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2022); courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Venus transit, 2004; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Victoria Park, 2007; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Book for Architects, 2014 (installation view, Wolfgang Tillmans: Book for Architects, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015); courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 230 (Free Swimmer 230), 2012; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, Lüneburg (self), 2020; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London
Wolfgang Tillmans, blue self–portrait shadow, 2020; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London

Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear is organized by The Museum of Modern Art.

The exhibition is organized by Roxana Marcoci, The David Dechman Senior Curator and Acting Chief Curator, Department of Photography, with Caitlin Ryan, Curatorial Assistant, and Phil Taylor, former Curatorial Assistant, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Major support for Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear at SFMOMA is provided by the Pritzker Exhibition Fund in Photography and Helen and Charles Schwab.

Generous support is provided by Katie Hall and Tom Knutsen, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, and Jessica Moment.

Meaningful support is provided by Alka and Ravin Agrawal, The Black Dog Private Foundation, Sabrina Buell and Yves Behar, Sakurako and William Fisher, Kate and Wes Mitchell, and The Sheri and Paul Siegel Exhibition Fund.

Community support is provided by the James C. Hormel and Michael P. Nguyen Endowment Fund.

Header image: Wolfgang Tillmans, Icestorm, 2001; courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / Hong Kong, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin / Cologne, Maureen Paley, London