Grace of Desire – Rebellion, Surrealism, Photography
Press release by Scherben, Berlin, Germany
Marta Hoepffner, Akt Bewegung, 1940, Courtesy Kressbon Museum Lände
Lesbian Legacies #1:
Grace of Desire
Claude Cahun, Florence Henri,
Marta Hoepffner, Krista Beinstein
01.05. 2025 – 08.06.2025
at Kunstraum Scherben
Scherben e.V.
Leipziger Str. 61
10117 Berlin, Germany
#1 Opening: 1. May / 19 – 22 hrs
Grace of Desire – Rebellion, Surrealism, Photography
At the beginning of the 20th century, the emerging medium of photography offered female and non-binary artists the opportunity to claim artistic spaces beyond male-dominated institutions. Compact cameras like the Leica I allowed for flexible working methods, while advertising and mass media opened new career paths. Although art history has primarily canonized male protagonists, photographers such as Claude Cahun, Florence Henri, and Marta Hoepffner shaped the avant-garde of Surrealism. In their works, they not only explored the boundaries of this new medium but also dismantled established visual regimes. Using experimental techniques, they created new, queer perspectives on the female-perceived body and the world.
Claude Cahun (1894–1954), in close collaboration with their partner Marcel Moore (1892–1972), explored queer themes such as identity, desire, and gender. Their works radically break with social norms, raising questions that remain pressing today. Through idiosyncratic self-portraits, enigmatic collages, and peculiar objects, Cahun and Moore challenge conventional notions of gender and sexuality. They experimented not only with innovative photographic techniques such as double exposure but also with identity concepts beyond binary categories. The two artists—who might identify as non-binary, were they alive today—have become icons of modern queer art Today, inspiring numerous contemporary artists.
Florence Henri (1893–1982) is also regarded as a pioneering figure in avant-garde photography of the early 20th century. Her compositions dissolve traditional notions of space and perspective, transforming everyday objects such as spheres, dishes, or fruit into charged elements of a surreal visual language. By translating key impulses of contemporary painting into the previously documentary-focused medium of photography, Henri established herself as a major representative of Neues Sehen (“New Vision”). Particularly in her portrait studies, she used mirrors and complex perspectives to subtly explore the fluidity of gender identities and sexual desire. While Henri witnessed the beginning of the rediscovery of her work in the 1980s, she has only recently begun to receive the full recognition she deserves.
Marta Hoepffner (1912–2000) was a key figure in experimental photography, significantly contributing to its revival after World War II. Her artistic development was shaped in the early 1930s by the contemporary avant-garde, especially DADA and Bauhaus. Hoepffner’s multifaceted work spans from surrealist photomontages of the 1930s to light-kinetic objects of the 1960s. Together with her life partner Irm Schoffers (1927–2008), she founded one of the most renowned photography schools in post-war West Germany, where she trained and inspired numerous photographers.
Krista Beinstein (1955) embodies a rebellious contemporary voice. For over 40 years, this unwavering nonconformist has explored the subversive potential of female and lesbian sexualities with profound humor, a great passion for eccentricity and camp, and a keen sense for subjects beyond the mainstream. In her works, she stages countless variations of erotic fantasies, often referencing historical icons such as Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet. Her diverse oeuvre is a lavish visual archive of the lesbian underground—a hidden gem long overdue for discovery.
Grace of Desire celebrates the groundbreaking significance of queer perspectives within modern avant-garde movements. The exhibition presents forgotten pioneers of photographic art and illuminates the early queer visual languages that, in a magical way, still feel strikingly contemporary.
Claude Cahun, Keepsake (series of four photographs), „Nantes Janvier 1932 Jersey 1932 Kid et Jersey 1932 Globes Keepsake“, Courtesy of Jersey Heritage
Accompanying Program:
Dr. Elisaveta Dvorakk (HU Berlin), 22.05.2025 / 19 Uhr: Queere Sehnsüchte, fotografische Freiheiten – Annemarie Schwarzenbach im Spiegel der illustrierten Presse (Deutsche Lautsprache)
Krista Beinstein in conversation with Claudia Reiche, tba: Künstlerinnengespräch Krista Beinstein
Thomas Love, (University of Missouri) tba: Provisional title: „The Surrealist Muse through a Genderqueer Lens“ (in Englisch)
Krista Beinstein, Anatomie der Klitoride Extravaganz, 2000 – 2005, Courtesy Krista Beinstein
Related Link
Press release by Kunstraum Scherben: Lesbian Legacies