Co Rentmeester Witnessing Life

Foam

October 10, 2025

February 11, 2026

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Foam presents Witnessing Life, the first major retrospective of the Dutch-American photographer Co Rentmeester (1936, the Netherlands). A pioneer in a wide range of photographic genres, Rentmeester helped shape the visual culture of the 20th century. His images span from battlefields during the Vietnam War to iconic advertising campaigns, wildlife and sport images. Amongst them is the world-famous Jumpman-image of Michael Jordan from 1984, later copied by Nike for their famous Jumpman logo, and named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential photographs of all time.

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His diverse body of work includes war reportage, documentary photography, wildlife, sports, and commercial imagery, Witnessing Life showcases Rentmeester’s extraordinary ability to move seamlessly across genres. The exhibition includes his early images from the Watts riots in 1965 and Vietnam, as well as his award-winning photographs of Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz and his iconic images for a major tobacco company.

Rentmeester was a staff photographer for LIFE from 1966 to 1972 and produced twenty-two covers for LIFE, earning recognition for his precision, visual clarity, and human storytelling. He remains the only Dutch photographer to have won a World Press Photo award, not once but twice. He received his first in 1967 for a striking image from the Vietnam War, notably the first colour photograph ever to win, and earned the second in 1973 for his portrait of Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz.

The exhibition’s title, Witnessing Life encapsulates Co’s lifelong engagement with the world through images. To witness, in Rentmeester’s practice, is not to document what is already apparent. It is to remain attentive in moments when the world becomes difficult to see. His photographs do not simply reflect history – they actively shape how it is remembered.

This retrospective also marks a symbolic homecoming for the 89-year-old artist: a return to Amsterdam, the city where Rentmeester’s photographic journey began. The exhibition will be accompanied by a new international publication exploring his life and work in greater depth.

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