The Life Force: Portraits from the Amparo and Manuel Collection (2026) New York: Museum of Sex, New York
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About the exhibition
Through more than 40 large-format figurative portraits from our collection, the exhibition explores how the body, portraiture, and eroticism intersect in contemporary art.
The exhibition delves into the tension between desire and mortality, presenting intimacy and physical vulnerability as acts of resistance in the face of the uncertainty of our times. -
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Curatorial Statement
The Life Force: Portraits from the Amparo & Manuel Foundation brings together large-scale figurative works that examine the body under psychological, temporal, and existential pressure. The exhibition engages with the tension Freud identified between Eros and Thanatos—the life instinct and the death drive—and considers intimacy as a response to the fragility of life. Aging, rupture, uncertainty, and collective instability shape the human condition. Within that context, the life force intensifies.
The portraits present figures in states of self-reflection and exposure. Nudity functions as vulnerability made visible—an interior condition turned outward. The human experience appears without armor: tender, fractured, thinking, sensing. Cracks appear across bodies and environments, suggesting structural stress beneath composure. Intimacy becomes a site of recognition—being real, being seen, unveiled.
These works emphasize vitality as a central force. Sensuality operates as soft power—subtle, embodied, persistent. Skin registers warmth and tension. Gesture conveys both weight and restraint. The erotic circulates as presence and connection, particularly in moments when the world feels unstable. In states of fracture, contact deepens; sex becomes a way of holding onto life.
This exhibition is a collaboration between Amparo & Manuel Foundation and the Museum of Sex. The partnership brings together the foundation’s commitment to contemporary portraiture and MOSEX’s long-standing exploration of the body, desire, and cultural discourse.
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Artworks
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Amoako BoafoBlack Pedestal Fan, 2025Oil and paper transfer on canvas209 x 172 x 2 cm
82 1/4 x 67 3/4 x 3/4 in -
Grace MetzlerSisters from different misters, 2022Oil on canvas152 x 152 cm
59 7/8 x 59 7/8 in -
Sarah LucasTITIVILITIUM, 2021Tights, wire, wool, spring clamp, shoes, acrylic paint, metal chair94 x 61 x 76 cm
37 x 24 x 29 7/8 in
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Oh De LavalGoodbye Innocence, 2021Acrylic on canvas70 x 50 cm
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 in -
Kent IwemyrSommaren med Albert, 2020Acrylic on linen116 x 130 cm
45 5/8 x 51 1/8 in -
Hernan BasThree Vampires, 2020Acrylic on linen182.9 x 152.4 cm
72 1/8 x 60 in
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Shadi Al AtallahJack and Rose I, 2018Mixed media on unstretched canvas155 x 270 cm
61 1/8 x 106 1/4 in -
Bert SternMarilyn Monroe behind a crucifix, from The Last Sitting for Vogue, 1962Print set within contact sheet border98.4 x 99.7 cm
38 3/4 x 39 1/4 in -
Bert SternMarilyn Monroe nude on a bed, from The Last Sitting for Vogue, 1962Archival pigment photograph101.6 x 123.2 cm
40 x 48 1/2 in
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Magnus PlessenUntitled (38), 2017Oil, charcoal on canvas146 x 97 x 3.5 cm
57 1/2 x 38 1/4 x 1 3/8 in -
Ma YanhongShe no. 1, 2003Oil on canvas180 x 60 cm
70 7/8 x 23 5/8 in -
MozShark attack, 2005Acrylic on canvas167 x 135 cm
65 3/4 x 53 1/8 in
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Victor RodriguezHotel 17,000, 2004Acrylic on canvas198 x 198 x 4 cm
78 x 78 x 1 5/8 in -
Agnes ThurnauerLove intercourse, 2006Acrylic on canvas115.5 x 89 x 2.5 cm
45 1/2 x 35 x 1 in -
Dale LewisVice versus, 2018Oil, acrylic and canvas200 x 170 x 3.5 cm
78 3/4 x 66 7/8 x 1 3/8 in
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Tracey EminLonely Chair drawing II, 2012Gouache on paper111 x 151 cm
43 3/4 x 59 1/2 in -
Franz GrafAutisme, 2013Ink, permanent marker and graphite on canvas160 x 240 x 4 cm
63 x 94 1/2 x 1 5/8 in -
Patty HoringMaster bath, 2015Oil on canvas150 x 196 x 4.5 cm
59 x 77 1/8 x 1 3/4 in
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Hans ScheibMorgen (Tomorrow), 2009Acrylic and wood86.4 x 45.7 x 15.2 cm
34 x 18 x 6 in -
David ShrigleyUntitled (Don't), 2013Ink on paper48 x 36 cm
18 7/8 x 14 1/8 in -
Richard DupontUntitled, 2007Pigmented polyurethane resin, assembled and sanded61 x 60 cm
24 x 23 5/8 in
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Richard DupontDrawing for terminal stage, 2007Ink on paper95.5 x 61.5 x 4.5 cm
37 5/8 x 24 1/4 x 1 3/4 in -
Brad KahlhamerAudrey England, 2008Watercolour on paper75 x 56 cm
29 1/2 x 22 in -
Brad KahlhamerRebiah, 2008Watercolour on paper75 x 56 cm
29 1/2 x 22 in
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Brad KahlhamerRapid city tanning and spa, 2008Watercolour on paper75 x 56 cm
29 1/2 x 22 in -
Katherine BernhardtCalvin Klein swimwear, 2006Acrylic on canvas244 x 183 x 4 cm
96 x 72 x 1 5/8 in -
Katherine BernhardtDrew Barrimore for missoni, 2006Acrylic on canvas51 x 40.5 x 2 cm
20 1/8 x 16 x 3/4 in
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Martin WilliamsNude, 1994Oil on canvas86 x 70.5 cm
33 7/8 x 27 3/4 in -
Nadine FarajThe heart is right, 2015Watercolour on paper76 x 60 cm
29 7/8 x 23 5/8 in -
Nadine FarajToo wonderful II, 2015Watercolour on paper76 x 56 cm
29 7/8 x 22 in
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Steve CanadayHoney mead burger bitch, 2006Oil on canvas172.5 x 183 x 3 cm
67 7/8 x 72 x 1 1/8 in -
Manel AnoroSenora con abrigo, ca. 1998Oil on canvas112 x 93 cm
44 1/8 x 36 5/8 in -
Lawrence ValenzaA short history, N.D.Oil on canvas61 x 91.5 cm
24 x 36 in
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David BromleyAlexia, 2002Acrylic and metal leaf on canvas155.7 x 125.2 cm
61 1/4 x 49 1/4 in -
Lawrence ValenzaSuspension, 1998Oil on canvas140 x 135 cm
55 1/8 x 53 1/8 in -
Quirarte + OrnelasMedias (Acción 4), 2008Watercolour on paper29 x 38.5 cm
11 3/8 x 15 1/8 in
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