Ellen Cantor

The American artist Ellen Cantor (1963–2013) addressed questions concerning faith, identity and love in her works. Cantor applies a wide range of media to examine the aesthetic and political limits of sexuality and love, autonomy and resistance. In her drawings, performances, films, photos and texts, she repeatedly explores the question of how female desire can be imagined and represented. The exhibition “Ellen Cantor”, a joint project by the Künstlerhaus Stuttgart and the CCA Wattis in San Francisco, was the first retrospective of Cantor’s work. Numerous pieces have been shown publicly for the first time. The full-length version of Cantor’s central cinematic work “Pinochet Porn”, which tells the story of five children who grew up under the regime of the Chilean dictator, has been shown for the first time in cinemas in Stuttgart and San Francisco. An extensive event programme of readings, performances, workshops and a symposium has accompanied the exhibition and offered visitors the chance to speak with international theorists and artists on the subjects of gender, sexuality and politics.

Artistic director: Fatima Hellberg (SE)
Curators: Fatima Hellberg (SE), Jamie Stevens (US)
Artists / Researchers: Lauren Berlant (US), Ellen Cantor (US), Pedro Cid Proença (PT), John Cussans (UK), Lia Gangitano (US), Joseph Grigley (US), Catherine Malabou (FR)