In the world of art, the theme of the face has not always been uncontroversial. Although in terms of the history of art it is closely associated with the well-respected genre and long tradition of portraiture, in the 20th century in particular, it was not only abstract strategies that were looked for in the art of portraiture. In the art-related terminology of the 1960s and 1970s, the portrayal of the human figure was generally considered taboo and was rejected as too anecdotal or narrative. This catalogue explores the strategies and methods by means of which the face gradually started to become an acceptable subject for artists as of the 1980s. Nowadays, various different figurative motifs including the face, independent of its function as a portrait, are making a reappearance in many different guises, be this as video images, in photography, as sculptures and drawings, in paintings or in installations.