American Images

American Images brings together, from February 11 to May 24, 2026, the essential work Dana Lixenberg has produced in the United States over more than three decades. Presented on two levels at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the retrospective combines large formats, documentary series, instant prints, and a video installation, offering a rich and varied panorama of her vision. Lixenberg practices photography of presence: her portraits, whether of public figures or residents of working-class neighborhoods, are marked by equal attention and a refusal of sensationalism.

The exhibition opens with a broad selection of color portraits made between 1993 and 2003 for American magazines Vibe, The New York Times Magazine, Interview, Rolling Stone, where Lixenberg captures key figures of popular culture. Whitney Houston, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Kate Moss, Iggy Pop, Jay-Z, Allen Ginsberg, and Leonard Cohen are among the photographed faces, images that often transcended their commissions to become striking portraits. Among them, the black-and-white portrait of Tupac Shakur (1993) holds a special place, exemplary of how Lixenberg combines visual power and intimacy.

The retrospective presents three personal bodies of work that deepen social realities often pushed to the margins. Jeffersonville, Indiana (1997, 2004), born from a commission by Jane magazine to document Haven House, traces Lixenberg’s presence with the residents of a temporary shelter: she photographs them regularly, often outside the building, with a modesty that avoids displaying misery. These long-term series demonstrate the strength of photographic archives when practiced over time with trust, contributing to a multifaceted portrait of the territories and communities through which her gaze passes.

The section dedicated to Imperial Courts traces Dana Lixenberg’s photographic presence in Watts, in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. Initiated in 1993, after the 1992 riots, the work follows the residents of a social housing complex over more than thirty years, producing a progressive and deeply human collective portrait. The portraits and materials presented reflect a relationship built over time: they reveal the persistence of everyday lives, the transformation of places, and how photography, through its constancy, becomes an act of knowledge and respect.