A New Retrospective in Amsterdam Highlights Viviane Sassen’s Milestones

When visitors enter Viviane Sassen’s “PHOSPHOR, Art and Fashion” at Foam—the photography museum of Amsterdam, a series of fleshy, surrealist collages hang in the entry area near a narrow staircase. Women’s bodies, missing fingers and lengthy limbs come cobbled together, making a bold statement. This isn’t just any career retrospective of another playful fashion photographer. This is a show of artistry and passion. Sassen spent the earlier part of her career as a fashion model and studied fashion design in Utrecht, so of course, the work here is stylish. But there’s much more to it.

After its initial showing at the Museum of European Photography in Paris, “PHOSPHOR” coming to Amsterdam is a sort of homecoming for Sassen, a native of the Dutch capital. It’ll head to Fotografiska Shanghai next, but only here will it include her most current work among her earlier experiments.

“This marks the introduction of new chapters in her artistic narrative,” Foam curator Aya Musa tells Observer. “Showcasing her latest works for the first time in her hometown, this exhibition uniquely combines personal history with a forward-looking artistic vision, providing deeper insights into her evolving creative process and how her roots continue to influence her current art.”

Though Sassen was born in the Netherlands in 1972, she spent 1974 through 1977 in Nyabondo, a Kenyan village where her father was employed as a doctor. Sassen continued to return there after moving back to the Netherlands, and she describes those visits as “so much like coming home, and at the same time, I know I will never ever be a part of that society. But that is where my earliest childhood memories got formed, so it is in my blueprint.”

She cites her time in Kenya as an era of “magical thinking,” when dramatic hues, light and shadow, the expansive sky and her relationship with the people there formed vivid, unforgettable scenes in her head.

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In the 1990s, Sassen engaged in various experiments in photography. She posed as a model for male fashion photographers, and after these experiences, she started shooting self-portraits in an attempt to regain control of her image. The photo series “Gravity” (1995-1996) displays her graduation project for the first time and the origins of the stark contrasts that would feature prominently in her later work with light and shadow. In “Folio” (1996-1997), Sassen “sculpted” friends and family in their poses as if they were works of art. Both of these bodies of work became the foundation of the signature optics that would keep her working with some of the biggest names in media and fashion.

One of the key elements of “PHOSPHOR” is the moving slideshow in a dark room of a highlights reel of her editorial fashion photography. The images that loop are addictive and hypnotic—with a soundtrack of percussive instrumentals in the background reflecting the sharp visuals. It’s here that Sassen’s mastery of fashion and art truly come together: the eye-catching colors, the statuesque posing of the models, the artful silhouettes and the slight air of mischief. Some of the photos here could have been shot years ago, yet there seems to be an enduring quality to them.

The Lichthof installation in “PHOSPHOR” exemplifies Viviane Sassen’s integration of fine arts and fashion, according to Musa. “This space highlights her ability to blend sculptural fashion elements with dynamic compositions, creating a visual dialogue that spans her early collaborations with fashion students and stylists to her extensive work with high-profile brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs,” she says. It’s Sassen’s approach to fashion photography that infuses it with artistic depth.

While her newer works show more of her abstract efforts—one video of clouds moving like liquid and another similar to a rain puddle with vibrations—it’s her fashion photography that speaks volumes, especially about her personal journey. “This exhibition is not just a showcase of artistic achievement but also an invitation to explore the depths of human emotion and perception, prompting a profound appreciation for the power of visual art to convey complex human experiences,” Musa concludes.

“PHOSPHOR, Art and Fashion” is at Foam through January 12, 2025.