“The Self Assessed”: The Grand Question of the Self-Portrait from Georg Baselitz to Cindy Sherman

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin · Until May 30, 2026

The massive Galerie Max Hetzler space on Potsdamer Straße is hosting what feels like a visual manifesto this month. This manifesto is built upon that uncanny, fragile moment when the human face and gaze turn directly back upon themselves.

The conceptual starting point of the exhibition, curated by Cornelius Tittel, is Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s famous aphorism: “The most fascinating surface on earth is the human face.” The exhibition takes off from this very observation and hits us with a stark truth: this surface is never a neutral space; on the contrary, it is a projection screen loaded with meaning, a performative stage, and a powerful field of tension where art and society establish their closest contact.

As you look at the gallery walls, you encounter a multi-layered and dizzying mosaic of art history: the introspective intensity of Rita Ackermann, the upside-down world of Georg Baselitz, the metaphysical gaze of Giorgio de Chirico, the heavy silence of Tracey Emin—standing on the verge of a scream—the relentlessly self-mocking laughter of Martin Kippenberger, the fluid existence of Cindy Sherman as she incessantly assumes different identities, and the weight of Paula Modersohn-Becker reaching beyond time. In fact, the history of the self-portrait can be read precisely as a history of these frames: creating space for the individual as a carrier of meaning and making visible the role of “self” as a figure that is validated, imposed, or rebellious.

Undoubtedly, one of the most staggering moments of the exhibition occurs at its very heart, when you stand before Rudolf Stingel’s magnificent abstraction that covers the entire surface. When you deconstruct the idea of “I,” what truly remains? This exhibition asks that provocative question through the languages of 22 different artists and provides the viewer with no definitive answers. And truth be told, that is absolutely the correct curatorial choice.

The exhibition closes on May 30. If you are in Berlin, these are your final weeks to confront this mirror beneath the surface; do not miss the opportunity.

• Venue: Galerie Max Hetzler, Potsdamer Straße 77–87, Berlin
• Dates: Running until May 30, 2026
• Featured Artists include: Georg Baselitz, Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, Rudolf Stingel, and more.