Bearing Witness

By Ella Slater for Family Style

February 02, 2026

The Radical Witness: Nan Goldin and the Architecture of Survival

Portrait of Aleksandra Artamonovskaja next to work by Jenni Pasanen. Courtesy of Trilitech.

My Thoughts: In my practice, I often consider the body as a site of both trauma and exquisite grace, a tension Nan Goldin has navigated for decades with unparalleled honesty. This exhibition at Gagosian London reminds us that the act of "bearing witness" is its own kind of choreography—a movement through the shadows of the marginalized to find a light that is both brutal and beautiful. To look at her work is to understand that true grace isn't found in a polished performance, but in the gritty, precarious reality of staying present.

Nan Goldin, Greer and Robert on the bed, New York City, 1982.

Facts:

This landmark exhibition at Gagosian’s Burlington Arts Club in London features an expansive range of Goldin’s photography, spanning her early years to her most recent, unseen work.
The show emphasizes Goldin’s role as an activist-artist, specifically highlighting her work with P.A.I.N. to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis.
Central to the exhibition is the theme of the "chosen family," documenting the intimate, often vulnerable lives of the LGBTQ+ community and those living on the fringes of society.
The curation focuses on the concept of the "archive as a living body," showcasing how her images function as both a personal diary and a collective history of resistance and survival.

“Insiders” by Brendan Fernandes