CLAMP Presents Studio Nudes Exhibition

The group show in New York traces artists' use of live models from the 1940s to the present across photography, drawing, and painting.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Fine Art

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of an empty artist's easel and stool in a quiet studio, evoking the tradition of working from the live figure.
Studio Nudes, a New York group show, traces artists' use of live models from the 1940s to the present across photography, drawing, and painting. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

CLAMP presents the group exhibition 'Studio Nudes' in New York, featuring photography, drawing, and painting. The show covers artists' use of live models from the 1940s to the present.

Why it matters

The exhibition places contemporary studio nude practices in dialogue with earlier work, showing how artists have approached the figure across decades. It gives New York audiences a focused look at how the nude has been made and presented over time.

The exhibition includes works by 19 named artists, including Robert Calafiore, who uses custom, hand-built pinhole cameras to create large-scale, one-of-a-kind chromogenic prints. The source does not give run dates or pricing.

The players

CLAMP

CLAMP is the New York gallery that presented the group exhibition 'Studio Nudes'.

Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet was a French painter whose 1863 work 'Olympia' caused a public scandal and remains a landmark of modern art.

George Platt Lynes

George Platt Lynes was an American photographer known for his Modernist nude photographs produced in the 1940s.

The details

The exhibition organizes artists into thematic and stylistic dialogues, and includes works by Daniel Handal, Paul Cadmus, George Platt Lynes, and others. Peter Berlin and Roberto Bocci turned the lens on their own bodies as central models.

Timeline

  1. 1863: Édouard Manet painted 'Olympia', a work that sparked public outrage.

  2. 1940s: George Platt Lynes produced Modernist nude photographs.

  3. 1970s: Peter Berlin turned the lens on himself.

  4. Late 1980s and early 1990s: Roberto Bocci turned the lens on himself.

  5. Past fifty years: Contemporary practitioners infused expressive works with sexuality.

Historical Thread

The exhibition extends a tradition that began with Édouard Manet's 1863 painting 'Olympia', which provoked public outrage over its depiction of the nude. Its inclusion of artists from the 1940s onward shows how that debate has continued through photography and painting.

Visitors can see the works in person at the New York presentation of the exhibition. The source does not state admission details or run dates, so check with the venue for current access information.

The takeaway

The exhibition shows that the studio nude remains an active subject, with artists from different decades reframing it through new media and self-portraiture. Viewing the works side by side offers a way to trace how attitudes toward the figure have shifted over time.

Further reading

For more on how artists have treated the figure, explore Fine Art coverage.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Artdaily.