Nan Goldin: You Never Did Anything Wrong
at Gagosian Featuring: Nan Goldin, with works in collaboration with audio by Valerij Fedorenko, and Mica Levi; and moving image projection work in collaboration with architect Hala Wardé.
by Yasmeen Abdallah, March 5, 2026
Nan Golden, The Ascent, Orpheus and Eurydice, 2024, , Archival pigment print in frame, 53 7/8 x 77 7/8 x 2 3/8 inches
As current and ongoing events harm people both locally and globally, Nan Goldin’s exhibition at Gagosian in 2024 continues to linger in the corners of my mind to this day. Goldin’s enduring presence of strength and solidarity are determining qualities in what I look for when engaging with art: unwavering demands for humanity, compassion and justice, even when it feels like an uphill battle. These moments of reprieve from grief are calls for conscientiousness and camaraderie when things feel impossibly dire. Over the course of her career, Goldin has navigated the beautiful, the ugly, and the ignored, with dignity and respect. Her ability to relay vulnerability, trauma, instability and loss with both tenderness and frankness is in a style distinctly her own. She has documented loved ones, spoken on behalf of strangers, and taken on titans holding all the power in the world. Goldin has challenged complicity and abuse through drug and war profiteers fearlessly and unapologetically. With the fierceness of a lioness, she has given vocal support and condemnation in the same breath. She has also made space for us to grieve alongside her through her work. From die-ins to installations of anonymity, she has made space for the art community to process the terse emotions we carry. Goldin has consistently championed those who have been marginalized and maligned, flipping the script and holding a mirror up to society. We have an obligation to be better, kinder, and more sensitive. For decades, Goldin has been a voice speaking on behalf of compassion, reason, and dignity. Her guiding spirit has been a beacon for so many stumbling through the dark in search of a way out.
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Goldin’s video montage, Stendhal Syndrome (2024) was a touching tribute that poignantly made space for the mourning of a beloved pet. Anyone that has loved and lost their trusted companion is all too familiar with the bereftness that lingers. The gaping wound is in part because this uncompromising companionship defies complex dynamics that are prevalent in the human species. Despite the fact that the heartbreak that comes with losing one’s best friend is utterly devastating, society largely restricts the same considerations for mourning and grief that we are afforded for our human counterparts. We are often told to move on in ways that are unhealthy and devoid of sympathy. Goldin, ever the sensitive omniscient, understands humanity on deeper levels, her beautiful compassion a lifeline for the many who grieve quietly, often in solitude and in need of reprieve.
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Photographs and moving images full of remembrance were poetically played in a slideshow carousel projection within a darkened structure where people could take in the emotional experience in anonymity, tears flowing freely in the shadows of sorrow and heartache. Goldin’s knack for succinctly laying emotion bare through passionate forms of expression is presented in equal measure with immense wit and tenderness. A canon of iconic subjects referenced timelessness through classical allegories. As they flirted in potent grids that unraveled fables of olde, the images swirled unabashedly amongst architectural elements that referenced monumental structures as a nod to their artistic lineage.
Installation view with detail of The Stendhal Syndrome, 2024: Artwork by Nan Goldin. Installation photos by Maris Hutchinson.
Depictions of kitsch funeral offerings and tributes were deeply relatable in their quest to honor those we most cherish. The sincerity and sweetness woven with care throughout was a much needed release for anyone who has ever felt such a shattering loss. In this realm that she invited strangers into, she prepared viewers with a large architectural structure the size of a New York studio apartment, within the context of the larger area of the gallery. As visitors entered the installation, a darkened amphitheater (save for a gently lit portal in the center of the ceiling) was a warm invitation for us to sit with our sadness in privacy. The architectural pavilions were designed in collaboration with Hala Wardé, a Lebanese-French architect. Photography was not permitted (ironic on the one hand, given the medium that Goldin has contributed so significantly to) yet, also wholly welcome so that anonymity and respect were maintained during such an emotional journey. With a score composed by Mica Levi, the audio component of the video experience includes the sounds of nature and sound by Valerij Fedorenko, centered on the concept of the animals absorbing the sun through an eclipse.
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Outside the pavilion and along the walls of the expansive gallery, are a recent body of works that employ the grid, and the canon of art history. Mining from the past, both local and global, Goldin seamlessly melded those she knew with those from the collective consciousness. The adornments within the frame also morph, modern denim melding with classical bedding, portrayed throughout the centuries, and carrying the language of sculpted marble friezes through the photographic form. Throughout her career, her portraits have depicted vulnerability and dignity, bringing up conversations around community care, resilience and justice. This work is about advocacy, in/visibility, and calling out humankind when it is cruel. Goldin has taken on many Goliaths throughout her career, never backing down from pressure or power. She is an artist that stands her ground and makes space for others to speak and be heard. Goldin’s work is rooted in honoring the beauty and fragility of all that is living, and in offering these entry points for people to connect, she makes space and time for important discussions, and offers space for us to sit with our feelings, without question.
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Our cherished animal friends have shown us this, have comforted us from the ills of the world, and have brought relief and joy amidst the hardships we grapple with in life. Goldin’s great service to humankind bridges these facets together so that we may heal and find meaning through the grief we navigate. This experience is a balm to temper the ache, to stabilize the affliction, to reset the bones fractured by a very broken society. Through this tender gesture, Goldin has continued to uphold her legacy as a pursuer of care, in an industry and world in which that notion often crumbles quickly. For anyone looking to find connection and meaning within grief, Goldin continues to do the work, as always: conscientiously, meaningfully, and unapologetically. A fearless champion for those who have been battered and bruised by the cruelty of this world, she continues to create art that oozes with compassion and helps us find some semblance of comfort amongst overwhelming grief. As Goldin continues to show up for humanity, she makes space for us to reflect, question and confront what we are told, and reconcile it with what we see.
Installation view: Artwork by Nan Goldin. Installation photos by Maris Hutchinson.