Blommers & Schumm Mid-Air

Foam presents the first major solo-exhibition of Dutch artist duo Blommers & Schumm, offering a deep dive into over 25 years of their playful and provocative image-making. Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm met at Amsterdam’s Gerrit Rietveld Academy and began collaborating shortly after graduating in 1997. Since then, they have become leading figures in international fashion photography, known for blurring the line between editorial work and autonomous art, creating timeless imagery that moves beyond the seasonality of fashion.

Blommers & Schumm have developed a singular visual language — both conceptually rich and visually striking. By challenging the conventions of fashion photography and embracing the unexpected, their work invites us to reconsider what we see and how we preceive that. In an era of computer-generated imagery, their enigmatic images are constructed entirely in front of the lens. What may initially appear as a conventional still life, often reveals a carefully staged illusion: a glass suspended mid-fall, a model posed in defiance of gravity, or a face assembled from everyday objects. These scenes are so precisely balanced that the smallest shift could cause the entire composition to collapse. Their images seem to hover — suspended in that one fleeting but forever frozen moment, caught mid-air.

The exhibition Mid-Air offers an intimate perspective on the pair of minds behind the iconic images of this artist duo, revealing the intricate methods behind their work. Their photographs move freely between fashion, art, and visual experimentation. Favouring a personal, unconventional approach, apart from famous faces, their shoots eschewing traditional fashion models and formats. Therefore, this exhibition provides a glimpse into their unique (and at times somewhat uncanny) world — both disorienting and surprising. It brings together highlights from their remarkable career, including iconic photographs featured in publications such as Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman, Dazed & Confused, Self Service, Purple, AnOther Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine.

About the artists

Anuschka Blommers (1969, Amsterdam) and Niels Schumm (1969, Amsterdam) met at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and started working together under the name of Blommers & Schumm since 1997. Since then, the duo has worked for countless editorial publications. In 2011, they were part of Foam's traveling group show Still/Life: Dutch Contemporary Photography. Blommers & Schumm have participated in numerous national and international museum presentations including at Kunst Museum Winterthur (Zurich), Schirn Kunsthalle (Frankfurt), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Institut Néerlandais (Paris), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Groninger Museum (Groningen), Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston) and Deichtorhallen (Hamburg). In 2006, they published their first book Anita and 124 other portraits (Valiz), and in September 2025, coinciding with their exhibition at Foam, the duo is set to publish a new book. Blommers & Schumm are represented by the Ravestijn Gallery in Amsterdam.

Blommers & Schumm – Mid-Air can be seen from 20 September 2025 – 23 February 2026 at Foam. Open daily 10am - 6pm, Thurs/Fri 10am - 9pm.

Foam
Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
+ 31 (0)20 5516500
www.foam.org