Irving Penn: Centennial

With a body of work stretching from portraits of Pablo Picasso, Marlene Dietrich, Alfred Hitchcock, New Guinean natives to abstract female nudes, exquisite still lifes, all the way to glamorous fashion photos for Vogue, Irving Penn (1917–2009) is considered the most influential photographer of the twentieth century. In his nearly 70-year career, he created an exceptionally diverse and distinctive visual cosmos. An unparalleled master of different genres, he succeeded in weaving contemporary photography and art. His new and different photographic gaze made each of his subjects special, whether they were human beings or inanimate objects. His innovative photographs are infused with clarity, elegance, perfection, and a flawless beauty. His unique style and pared-down aesthetic remain influential to this day, and have had a profound impact on innumerable successors.

On the centenary of his birth, C/O Berlin is commemorating Irving Penn with a major retrospective. Featuring around 240 works, the exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with The Irving Penn Foundation. More than 180 works to be donated by The Irving Penn Foundation to The Metropolitan Museum of Art forms the core of the exhibition, among them the famous studies of Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, the most sought-after photo model of the time, who became Irving Penn’s wife and muse. A comprehensive monograph accompanying the exhibition is published by Schirmer/Mosel, Munich. The exhibition has been made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. It is being shown in New York, Paris, São Paulo—and exclusively at C/O Berlin in Germany.
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The Achievement and Legacy of Irving Penn
Curator’s Lecture with Jeff L. Rosenheim 
March 24, 2018, 5pm
Jeff L. Rosenheim, Joyce Frank Menschel Curator in Charge 
Department of Photographs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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C/O Berlin is a charitable foundation that presents a cultural program with an international standing. Since 2000 the exhibition venue for photography and visual media shows works by renowned artists, promotes emerging talents and accompanies children, youths and adults on their journeys of discovery through our visual culture.
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