Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well

Nan Goldin is one of the most high-profile artists of our time. Her view of the joys and sorrows of a human life through the lens of her camera is legendary. Her photos of herself and her friends are snapshots of intimacy and coupling, the quotidian and wild parties. She makes social issues visible and negotiable, even far beyond the art world.

In the largest gallery of the Stedelijk, Nan Goldin returns to the origins of her artistic practice with the exhibition ‘This Will Not End Well. As a filmmaker, she presents slideshows consisting of thousands of photos in six unique buildings, supported by music, voice-overs, and archive material.

The exhibition is comprised of: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1981–2022), Nan Goldin’s magnum opus; The Other Side(1992– 2021), a historical portrait produced as an homage to her trans friends whom she photographed between 1972–2010; Sisters, Saints and Sibyls(2004–2022), a testament to the trauma of families and suicide; Fire Leap (2010–2022), a foray into the world of children; Sirens(2019–2020), a trip into drug ecstasy; and Memory Lost (2019–2021), a claustrophobic journey through drug withdrawal.