Studies for a Keepsake

Claude Cahun (1894-1954) and Marcel Moore (1892-1972)

Gus Fisher Gallery
The Kenneth Myers Centre, 74 Shortland St, Auckland

29 May – 22 August 2026

Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore, Untitled [I am in training, don’t kiss me], 1927. Courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collections.

Gus Fisher Gallery is proud to present 'Studies for a Keepsake' – an unprecedented exhibition of pioneering artists Claude Cahun (1894-1954) and Marcel Moore (1892-1972) set to take place in Aotearoa New Zealand. ⁠

Visionary artists and activists associated with the French Surrealist movement, Cahun and Moore were lifelong partners and collaborators whose fearlessness in art was reflected wholeheartedly in life. ⁠

As gender non-conforming artists who defied the social norms of the time, they used their art as a form of resistance. Spanning writing, photography, collage, performance and sculpture, their creative output is considered to have been decades ahead of its time.⁠

Through a rare focus on historic portraiture by two queer photographers, the exhibition features over seventy works and celebrates the enduring legacy of this collaborative duo who created some of the most defining portraits of the 20th century. ⁠

'Studies for a Keepsake' runs from 29 May to 22 August at Gus Fisher Gallery and coincides with the 40th anniversary of The Homosexual Law Reform Act in Aotearoa in 2026. ⁠

A dynamic public programme of events will accompany the exhibition, supported by The Gerrard and Marti Friedlander Charitable Trust. With thanks to our gallery supporters Aalto Paint and to Jersey Heritage Collections for their cooperation on this special kaupapa.⁠