On November 23, the Marta Ortega Pérez Foundation (MOP Foundation) will present the exhibition “Irving Penn: Centennial,” giving rise to the most complete retrospective of this master of photography shown to date in Spain in the city of A Coruña.

Created by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in collaboration with the Irving Penn Foundation, the exhibition covers all the periods of Penn’s prolific career between the late 1930s and the first decade of the 21st century in some 175 photographs. The presentation will be led by the exhibition’s curator, Jeff L. Rosenheim, Joyce Frank Menschel Curator in Charge of Photography at The Met.

The exhibition explores Irving Penn's deep interest in the ephemeral and complexities of the human condition, which is evident not only in his portraits but also in the masterful still lifes that define his career. 

Irving Penn understood photography as an art long before it was widely recognized as such, and in his work he combined nuanced composition with an uncanny talent for observing human expression, attitude, and behavior.

The pieces on display courtesy of The Irving Penn Foundation at the MOP Foundation include Penn's portraits of celebrities, cultural figures, workers with their work tools, abstract nudes, early documentaries of street scenes, floral compositions, street signs and trash, fashion studies, and still lifes. But Penn's egalitarian spirit and keen photographic sensitivity made his work with ordinary people such as merchants and street vendors just as moving and impactful.

Irving Penn (American, 1917–2009). Woman in Chicken Hat (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), Nueva York, 1949. Fotografía cortesía por The Irving Penn Foundation.
Irving Penn (American, 1917–2009). Woman in Chicken Hat (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), New York, 1949. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn: Centennial is the fourth in a series of international exhibitions presented by the MOP Foundation, whose president, Marta Ortega Pérez, says: “Irving Penn’s image-making is exemplary. In Penn’s hands, the everyday becomes extraordinary and reveals the profound beauty of simplicity. His work consists of more than just capturing moments; he captures the essence of his subjects and invites us to see the world in a different way. His lasting legacy lies in the ability of his photographs to stimulate our imagination every time we see them. 

It is a true honour to be able to present this magnificent exhibition in A Coruña and to continue with our goal of presenting the best fashion photography exhibitions. Irving Penn: Centennial is a wonderful odyssey through the lens of one of the greatest professionals of photography. A celebration of the art, vision and printmaking of a photographer whose work remains as relevant and powerful as it was decades ago.”

Irving Penn had an uncanny ability to infuse his photographs with a sense of timelessness and narrative depth, whether capturing the tired eyes of workers, the serene beauty of models, or the poignancy of aging flowers. His work is characterized by a relentless pursuit of perfection and an unerring eye for detail, which extended to his meticulous approach to printmaking.

Irving Penn (American, 1917–2009). Naomi Sims in Scarf, Nueva York, ca. 1969. Fotografía cortesía por The Irving Penn Foundation.
Irving Penn (American, 1917–2009). Naomi Sims in Scarf, New York, ca. 1969. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

As a featured photographer for Vogue magazine, Penn was uniquely positioned to create a record of 20th-century cultural history. The exhibition features Penn’s photographs of figures such as Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn, renowned designers such as Gianni Versace, Issey Miyake, and Yves Saint Laurent, and important writers and artists such as Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Salvador Dalí, Zaha Hadid, and Richard Avedon.

Open to the public at the MOP Foundation from November 23, 2024, to May 1, 2025, Irving Penn: Centennial is the most comprehensive retrospective of the celebrated photographer presented to date, an exhibition that reveals his extraordinary versatility and artistic range.

More information

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Exhibition
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Irving Penn: Centennial.

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Curators
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Jeff L. Rosenheim, Joyce Frank Menschel.

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Organisation
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Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with the Irving Penn Foundation.

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From November 23, 2024 to May 1, 2025.

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Location
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Av. Jardines de Méndez Núñez, s/n, 15003 A Coruña. Spain.

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Irving Penn was one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Born in New Jersey in 1917, he is rightly renowned for his meticulousness, minimalist style, mastery of printmaking and bold artistic experiments. Penn had an uncanny ability to infuse his photographs with a sense of timelessness and narrative depth, whether capturing the tired eyes of workers, the serene beauty of models or the poignancy of aging flowers. His work is characterised by a relentless pursuit of perfection and an unerring eye for detail, which extended to his meticulous approach to printmaking.

Penn was a regular contributor to Vogue magazine for over seven decades, revolutionising fashion photography by photographing models against neutral backgrounds to highlight fabrics, gestures and expression. His work in the fashion world not only redefined the genre, but also set new standards of artistic and technical excellence.

Although best known for his psychologically penetrating portraits, Penn was a prolific artist whose career spanned a wide range of interests over seventy years until his death in 2009 in Manhattan, New York, United States.

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Published on: November 16, 2024
Cite: ""Irving Penn: Centennial" at the MOP Foundation" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/irving-penn-centennial-mop-foundation> ISSN 1139-6415
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