Eroticism - Beyond beauty and shame

melanie bonajo

The Limburgs Museum in Venlo presents an ambitious and thought-provoking exhibition that traces the evolution of erotic art from the late Middle Ages to the present day. "Eroticism - Beyond Beauty and Shame," running from April 19, 2025, through January 2026, brings together an impressive collection of works that examine the complex relationship between desire, taboo, and artistic expression.

The exhibition showcases an remarkable range of artists spanning different eras and mediums. Classical works include pieces by Gustav Klimt, whose sensual paintings helped define early modern eroticism, alongside contemporary photography by Robert Mapplethorpe, whose provocative black-and-white images challenged conventional boundaries of desire and representation. 

The show features significant works by renowned photographers including Nobuyoshi Araki, known for his intimate and controversial explorations of sexuality in Japanese culture, and Spencer Tunick, whose mass nude installations transform the human body into landscape art. Miles Aldridge's vibrant fashion photography, including his work "Immaculée" from the Alex Daniels collection, provides a contemporary commercial perspective on erotic imagery.

Contemporary artists are well-represented through works by Grayson Perry, whose ceramic works and tapestries often explore gender identity and sexuality with wit and provocation, and Bill Viola, whose video installations examine the spiritual and physical aspects of human experience. Dutch artists featured include Helen Verhoeven, Melanie Bonajo, Erwin Olaf, Rineke Dijkstra, Hadassah Emmerich, Tanja Ritterbex and Rik Meijers. 

Particularly striking is the inclusion of Studio SMACK's "Tuin der Lusten" (Garden of Earthly Delights), a digital reinterpretation that brings Hieronymus Bosch's medieval masterpiece into the contemporary digital age. This work exemplifies the exhibition's approach to connecting historical and contemporary perspectives on desire and transgression.

As guest curator Edwin Becker and co-curator Laura Adams demonstrate, the exhibition refuses to reduce eroticism to simple titillation or shame. Instead, it presents eroticism as encompassing "love and lust, but also any taboos that may accompany them." This broader understanding allows for works that range from Hans van Houwelingen's conceptual "Armor I" to David LaChapelle's hyperreal photography and Erwin Olaf's staged narratives. 

The exhibition includes an audio tour featuring conversations between theatre producer Lucas De Man, Club Lam artistic director Marloes IJpelaar, literature professor Marita Mathijsen, and curator Edwin Becker. These diverse voices reflect the show's commitment to presenting multiple viewpoints on a subject that remains both universal and personal.

What makes this exhibition particularly relevant is its recognition that we currently live in an era where "prudeness and sexualisation exist alongside each other." The careful selection of works from Limburg collections alongside national and international pieces creates a dialogue between different cultural approaches to desire, intimacy, and artistic expression.

The exhibition invites viewers to engage with objects that "offer room for the viewer's own interpretation, meaning and association," acknowledging that eroticism means different things to different people across cultures and time periods. This approach makes "Eroticism - Beyond Beauty and Shame" less a definitive statement about erotic art than an open-ended exploration of one of humanity's most enduring and complex themes.

Running until January 2026, the exhibition offers ample opportunity to engage with these challenging and beautiful works that span centuries of artistic expression around desire, intimacy, and the human condition.

www.limburgsmuseum.nl