Dana Lixenberg at the MEP

A final chance to see “American Images” by Dana Lixenberg

Until May 24, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie presents “American Images”, the first major Paris exhibition dedicated to Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg. This retrospective brings together more than thirty years of work across the United States. It features portraits, long-term documentary projects, Polaroids, and archival material. Collectively, these reveal a quieter and more complex vision of America.

Rather than offering a spectacular retrospective, the exhibition builds something slower and more intimate. It creates an experience that unfolds through attention, presence, and human connection. With only a few weeks left before it closes, “American Images” is one of the photography exhibitions not to miss this season in Paris.

The Art of Portraiture

Dana Lixenberg’s photography immediately stands apart through its restraint. Working with a large-format camera, she approaches portraiture with an unusual sense of slowness and precision. Her images avoid dramatic effects or easy storytelling. Instead, they focus on small gestures, expressions, and moments of vulnerability.

What makes the exhibition particularly compelling is the way it moves between public figures and anonymous subjects without ever changing its tone. For instance, celebrities such as Prince, Whitney Houston, Tupac Shakur, or Biggie Smalls appear with the same attention and humanity as the residents of shelters, housing projects, or isolated communities photographed throughout her long-term projects.

The result is an exhibition that constantly questions how people are represented, and how photography can move beyond stereotypes.

America through relationships

At the centre of “American Images” is Dana Lixenberg’s long relationship with the people she photographs. Many of the projects presented at the MEP were developed over years, sometimes decades. She returned repeatedly to the same communities and created images shaped by trust.

One of the strongest parts of the exhibition focuses on “Imperial Courts”, her ongoing project documenting a social housing community in Watts, Los Angeles, since the early 1990s. Instead of reproducing familiar images of violence or poverty, Dana Lixenberg constructs a much more layered portrait of daily life. She also captures memory and change over time.

Elsewhere, the exhibition moves through very different parts of the United States. It features homeless families in Indiana, disappearing landscapes in Alaska, editorial portraits from the 1990s music scene, and intimate Polaroids originally used as working tools during shoots.

Without trying to explain America directly, the exhibition gradually reveals its contradictions, inequalities, and fragilities.

Dana Lixenberg’s photographs of attention

What stays with the viewer after visiting “American Images” is less a specific image than a feeling of closeness. Dana Lixenberg never photographs people as symbols or social categories. Even in highly precarious contexts, her portraits remain calm, dignified, and deeply attentive.

The exhibition also feels surprisingly contemporary. Questions around identity, community, and representation appear throughout her work without feeling forced. Everything stays focused on the relationship between the photographer and the people she photographs.

At a moment where images circulate faster than ever, “American Images” reminds us of the value of slowing down and truly looking.

Before it closes

With its quiet intensity and remarkable consistency, “American Images” confirms Dana Lixenberg as one of the most important portrait photographers of the last decades.

The exhibition runs at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie until May 24, 2026. Therefore, now is the last chance to experience this powerful and deeply human body of work before it closes.

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