Nan Goldin and the museum journeys of This Will Not End Well
Published on 08/19/2026 at 13:51 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Nan Goldin has reshaped how museums think about photography as moving image and slide show. Her traveling retrospective This Will Not End Well has moved from Stockholm to Berlin and Milan before arriving at the Grand Palais in Paris, where the institution frames it as the first major French retrospective of her videos and dioramas.
Museums hosting This Will Not End Well
The exhibition tour This Will Not End Well began at Moderna Museet in Stockholm in late 2022, continued to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and then reached the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and Pirelli Hangar Bicocca in Milan. The French stop at the Grand Palais in 2026 is presented as the first full retrospective in France devoted to Goldin's projected films composed of photographs.
At the Grand Palais, the show concentrates on Goldin's slide-based films and calls them 'films composed of photos', emphasizing the cinematic pacing of still images across multiple rooms. This institutional framing underlines how museums increasingly present Goldin not just as a photographer but as an artist working in time-based installations.
Nan Goldin in major collections
The touring structure of This Will Not End Well reflects how European museums treat Goldin as a canonical figure of post-1980 photography. Institutions such as Moderna Museet and the Stedelijk have long collected her work, and the Grand Palais situates the retrospective alongside other major twentieth and twenty-first century figures in its program.
Parallel to the retrospective circuit, Goldin's photographs also appear in thematic collection shows, such as the traveling exhibition Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder, which brings works by Diane Arbus, Dorothea Lange, Richard Avedon and Nan Goldin to museums in Southampton, Sarasota, Charleston and Miami over the next two years.
All news and background on Nan Goldin
Readers can follow further reporting on Nan Goldin's exhibitions, museum tours and activist projects in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core in slides and films
Goldin's practice is built around long slide sequences such as The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, which she has shown as a projected diashow in theater-like settings, including recent presentations at venues like Kampnagel's International Summer Festival in Hamburg in 2026. These works combine hundreds of images into narrative arcs about intimacy, addiction and community.
The Grand Palais retrospective focuses on these slide films and videos, presenting them in immersive, darkened rooms that echo cinema spaces while preserving the grain and color of analog photography. This curatorial approach makes clear how Goldin's work sits between photography, film and installation.
Where the artist stands now
Nan Goldin's current position is defined by a major European museum tour of This Will Not End Well and ongoing presentations of key works such as The Ballad of Sexual Dependency in institutional contexts that treat her photography as both historical document and contemporary moving-image art.
Nan Goldin at a glance
- Artist: Nan Goldin
- Medium / Genre: Photography (documentary and slide-based moving image)
- Born: 1953, Washington, D.C., United States
- Place(s) of practice: Active between the United States and Europe, with long-term work in New York and major European museum collaborations.
- Active since: Mid-1970s, with early slide shows developing into major series in the 1980s.
- Key work groups: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, Thanksgiving, This Will Not End Well (suite of slide-based films)
- Current/last exhibition: Nan Goldin, This Will Not End Well – touring retrospective at Moderna Museet (Stockholm), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin), Pirelli Hangar Bicocca (Milan) and Grand Palais (Paris).
- Major collections: Works in major European museum photography collections, including Moderna Museet, the Stedelijk Museum and institutions associated with the Grand Palais program.
- Awards: Recognized internationally for both artistic practice and activism, including major festival and institutional honors documented across museum and festival programs.
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Nan Goldin
Where can I currently see Nan Goldin's work in a museum context?
Nan Goldin's work features prominently in the traveling retrospective This Will Not End Well, which has moved through Moderna Museet, the Stedelijk Museum, the Neue Nationalgalerie, Pirelli Hangar Bicocca and the Grand Palais.
What is the focus of the exhibition This Will Not End Well?
The exhibition concentrates on Nan Goldin's slide-based films and video works, which institutions like the Grand Palais describe as 'films composed of photos', highlighting her use of still images in time-based installations.
How is The Ballad of Sexual Dependency presented today?
The diashow The Ballad of Sexual Dependency continues to be shown as a projected sequence in theater-like spaces, such as at Kampnagel's International Summer Festival in Hamburg in August 2026, underscoring its status as a key work of photography history.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
