LONDON — The shocking and elegant photographs of American photographer Irving Penn are getting a Spanish retrospective at the Marta Ortega Peréz Foundation, otherwise known as MOP Foundation in the city of A Coruña.
“Irving Penn: Centennial” will take place from Nov. 23 to May 1, 2025, with 175 works on display, from celebrity portraits, abstract nudes, compositions of flowers and more.
“Irving Penn’s image making is exemplary. In Penn’s hands, the everyday becomes extraordinary, revealing the profound beauty in simplicity. His work does more than capture moments; it captures the essence of his subjects and invites us to see the world anew,” said Peréz, president of the MOP Foundation and non-executive chair of Zara parent company Inditex.
Black and White Fashion with Handbag (Jean Patchett), New York, 1950.
The Irving Penn Foundation
“His enduring legacy lies in the ability of his photographs to excite our imagination every time we see them. It is truly an honor to be able to present this wonderful exhibition in A Coruña as we continue our mission to showcase the very best of fashion photography,” she added.
The exhibition “Irving Penn: Centennial” premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017 with portraits of Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn on show, as well as Gianni Versace, Issey Miyake, Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Zaha Hadid and more exhibited.
Penn’s work has been making the rounds in Europe. In Paris, the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery ran a series of the photographer’s beauty images in an exhibition titled, ““Irving Penn — Edge of Beauty,” running from June 22 to July 13.
Single Oriental Poppy, New York, 1968.
The Irving Penn Foundation
Tom Pecheux, a celebrity makeup artist who is the global beauty director for YSL Beauty, cherry-picked images for the show.
At the MOP Foundation, Peréz is honing a collection of exhibitions dedicated to fashion imagemakers. The foundation has already hosted exhibitions on Peter Lindbergh and Steven Meisel.
Irving Penn, Bee (A), New York, 1995.
The Irving Penn Foundation/Courtesy of Cardi Gallery
Last year, the foundation announced the opening of “Helmut Newton – Fact & Fiction,” an exhibit curated by Philippe Garner, Matthias Harder and Tim Jefferies in collaboration with the Helmut Newton Foundation celebrating the life and work of photographer Helmut Newton.