The exhibition was put together by Ed and Nacy Kienholz, who built a three-dimensional reconstruction of the Dutch capital's red light district in 1983.

Many of the windows in the exhibition display bizarre and extreme sexual acts. When the gallery announced the show, many critics said it had "prostituted" itself with tasteless displays, designed to shock.

Curator Colin Wiggins defended the decision by comparing it to a walk through a 17th century Dutch painting of Amsterdam.

The explicit sexual images are placed in golden frames and are covered with resin, which Wiggins says makes them less confrontational.

The Kienholz couple was inspired by visits to the Dutch capital. Ed Kienholz, who died in 1994, was famous for his installations dealing with mental illness, abortion and the porn industry.