There is frequent discussion around how different players in the art ecosystem are redefining their roles and working models. Hauser & Wirth stands out in this regard—not only as one of the most influential galleries on the global art scene, but also for how it has developed each of its spaces in distinct ways, incorporating elements of environment and well-being that enrich the experience for collectors, clients, and visitors alike. Hauser & Wirth Menorca is a prime example, bringing together nature, sustainability, and a certain sense of exclusivity.
But this is not the time to analyze gallery models. Rather, we turn to the two exhibitions currently on view at this unique venue—solo shows by two artists with firmly established careers: Mika Rottenberg and Cindy Sherman.
Cindy Sherman. The Women
Encountering Cindy Sherman’s work is always noteworthy—especially considering that her last solo exhibition in Spain took place back in 1996 at the Museo Nacional – Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, co-organized with the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.
On this occasion, The Women brings together a compelling selection of works created between the 1970s and 2010s. Among them are some of her most iconic series, such as Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980), where Sherman stages fictional film stills that evoke the nouvelle vague, 1960s French cinema, Italian neorealism, and even Hitchcock.
This is the only series to which Sherman has assigned a title. As she explains in a documentary produced by Art21—screened as part of the exhibition—she generally avoids titling her works, feeling she isn’t particularly skilled at it and preferring instead to leave room for ambiguity and multiple interpretations. The show in Menorca also includes early pieces from her student years, already foreshadowing the aesthetic and conceptual approach of Untitled Film Stills. In these early images—as in much of her work—Sherman uses makeup, wigs, masks, and costumes, performing as model, director, and photographer by triggering the camera herself from within the scene. Also featured are selections from the Murder Series, where she embodies mysterious, everyday characters that anticipate some of the figures later seen in her commercial film Office Killer (1997).
The heart of the exhibition, however, lies in her later explorations of women—middle-aged, from diverse social and economic backgrounds—placed in enigmatic settings. Sometimes these are dramatic, painterly landscapes that starkly contrast with the haute couture garments worn by the characters (in collaboration with Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar); other times, the works rely on layered compositions and double exposures.
The series informally known as The Flappers revisits different archetypes of women from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s—figures who embodied empowerment and a desire to modernize society. These works also introduce themes of aging and the passage of time. One of the highlights of the documentary mentioned before shows Sherman in her studio, where she reveals drawers filled with dental prosthetics, ocular accessories, and masks. We also see her enthusiastically thrift-shopping for outfits—animal prints, sequins, and all manner of glittery attire—which often inspire the emergence of new photographic characters.
Her ongoing investigation into identity construction through self-representation—a central theme of her practice—feels particularly prescient in today’s era of social media, especially Instagram. Fittingly, one can find the cindyshermanlegacyproject on that very platform—an initiative by Hauser & Wirth devoted to preserving her photographs and ensuring the longevity of her artistic legacy.
Mika Rottenberg. Vibrant Matter
Mika Rottenberg’s Vibrant Matter blurs the line between reality and fiction to explore post-capitalist life systems and how they shape our existence. Her immersive installations and video works often confront viewers with absurd mechanisms of labor, production, and consumption. Two major pieces featured in the show are Cosmic Generator (2017)—first presented at Skulptur Projekte Münster—and Spaghetti Blockchain (2019).
Cosmic Generator weaves together real and imaginary scenes linking distant places such as Mexico, California, and a plastic goods market in China. Spaghetti Blockchain, meanwhile, focuses on materials—from raw substances to artificial textures, or the tiniest particles documented during a research stay at CERN. This three-channel video installation includes a meticulously crafted soundscape, incorporating everything from plastic ball manipulation and ASMR-style effects to traditional Siberian throat singing, generating immersive connections to both space and nature.
This sonic dimension also enriches the visit to her latest installation, Lampshares (2024–2025), in which Rottenberg transforms her New York studio into a kind of circular economy. Created in collaboration with Inner City Green Team and Gary Dusek, this series of lamps is made from invasive vines gathered in upstate New York and recycled plastic sourced from local dumpsters. In doing so, Rottenberg builds functional sculptures from materials often considered waste or toxic. Yet these substances, derived from petroleum, originate from once-living organisms millions of years ago. By repurposing such detritus, the artist performs a gesture of transformation—redefining the negative connotations of these materials and postponing their environmental impact through renewed utility.
Cindy Sherman. The Women y Mika Rottenberg. Vibrant Matter are on view at Hauser & Wirth Menorca through 26 October 2025.
