‘LUX & UMBRA’ is the first major exhibition of Dutch artist Viviane Sassen in Spain, presented as part of PHotoESPAÑA 2026. Bringing together more than three decades of photography, collage and installation, the show explores the intersections of light, shadow, memory and the body.
Some photographers look for clarity. Viviane Sassen finds meaning in what remains partly concealed. The Dutch artist brings her singular visual universe to Madrid with ‘LUX & UMBRA’, on view at the Fernán Gómez. Centro Cultural de la Villa as part of PHotoESPAÑA 2026 until 26 July. The exhibition offers a broad overview of an artistic practice that has expanded the boundaries between photography, fashion and contemporary art for more than three decades.
The exhibition spans Sassen’s career, from early photographs made in Africa to celebrated series such as ‘Flamboya’, ‘Parasomnia’ and the recent collage works ‘Cadavre Exquis’. Rather than following a chronological path, the show creates a dialogue between images, memories and recurring visual motifs that have shaped her work over time.
Light and shadow form the foundation of Sassen’s visual language. Bodies appear fragmented, obscured or transformed, moving between abstraction and portraiture. Colour, geometry and composition become tools for exploring perception, identity and the relationship between the body and its surroundings.
Alongside her artistic practice, Sassen has created influential imagery for Miu Miu, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Stella McCartney. Her fashion work shares the same experimental approach found throughout her personal projects, where representation, desire and memory are explored through unexpected perspectives and carefully constructed visual worlds.
Awarded the PHotoESPAÑA 2026 Prize, Sassen arrives in Madrid with a body of work that continues to influence both contemporary photography and fashion image-making. ‘LUX & UMBRA’ offers a rare opportunity to experience the breadth of that vision within a single exhibition.
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