Marketa B Woodman 18 New May 2026
Title: Markéta B. Woodman: 18 New
Subtitle: A fresh editorial by LENS Studio
Description:
Czech model and creative director Markéta B. Woodman releases 18 never-before-seen images from her collaboration with photographer J. Havel. The set includes:
Featured looks:
Margiela archive pieces, custom jewelry by A. Novák, and natural lighting only.
Where to download:
Exclusive on Markéta’s Patreon / Instagram highlights (link in bio). Released April 12, 2026.
Art collectors and curators are racing to acquire exhibition rights for the Marketa B Woodman 18 new series for one specific reason: They reveal a transition period.
Previously, Woodman’s work was viewed as a linear progression toward isolation and disappearance. The final works (1981) were almost completely devoid of the human figure, focusing only on shadows. marketa b woodman 18 new
The "18 new" images, dated 1980, serve as a missing link. They show her experimenting with confrontation rather than disappearance. In image #12 of the series, she stares directly down the lens (a rarity for her) while holding a piece of broken mirror up to the camera like a shield. This suggests that in her final year, she was not simply fading away but actively fighting against the medium’s ability to capture her.
Title: Markéta B. Woodman: 18 New Works
Subtitle: Fragments of Memory & Light
Introduction:
Markéta B. Woodman unveils her latest collection of 18 original pieces, exploring the delicate boundary between presence and absence. Drawing from her Czech heritage and surrealist influences, these new works blend analog photography, mixed media, and cyanotype experiments.
List of 18 New Pieces (sample titles):
Excerpt from Artist’s Statement:
“These 18 images are not a series but a diary. Each one a second thought, a double look. I’m chasing what vanishes right after I see it.”
Where to view:
Online gallery opens May 15, 2026. Print edition limited to 18 copies.
For decades, the Woodman estate, managed by the George and Betty Woodman Foundation (named after her parents, both renowned artists), believed the archive was fully cataloged. However, in late 2023, a conservator at a private storage facility in TriBeCa, New York, stumbled upon a rusted metal box mislabeled “Studio Props – 1978.”
Inside that box were 18 medium-format negatives wrapped in wax paper. The film stock was Kodak Tri-X 400, heavily degraded by humidity. After months of painstaking digital restoration by the Museum of Modern Art’s photography conservation team, the images were confirmed to be authentic Marketa B Woodman works, dated between 1979 and early 1981.
This marked the first major addition to Woodman's known catalogue in over a decade, hence the moniker “Marketa B Woodman 18 new.” Title: Markéta B
As of this writing, the physical negatives are housed at the Woodman Family Foundation in New York. However, a traveling exhibition titled “Absence/Presence: The 18 New Works” is scheduled for the following venues:
A limited-edition monograph, titled Marketa B Woodman: 18 New, is also being published by Steidl. The book includes essays by curator Noam Elcott and a breakdown of the restoration process.
In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art photography, few names evoke as much visceral reaction and intellectual curiosity as Marketa B Woodman. Known for her hauntingly ethereal self-portraits and a tragic, posthumous rise to fame, Woodman’s archive continues to be a goldmine for art historians and collectors alike. Recently, the art world has been buzzing with the phrase “Marketa B Woodman 18 new” — referring to the discovery and exhibition of 18 previously unseen works from her prolific yet short-lived career.
But what exactly are these 18 new pieces? Where did they come from, and why do they matter in the canon of late 20th-century photography? This article unpacks everything you need to know about this latest release.