MOP Foundation inaugurates “Irving Penn: Centennial”

The Marta Ortega Pérez Foundation (MOP Foundation) is opening in A Coruña the largest retrospective of the iconic photographer Irving Penn presented to date in Spain. Irving Penn: Centennial can be visited from last Saturday, November 23, until May 1, 2025, at the MOP Center at Muelle de Batería.

Irving Penn understood photography as an art long before it was widely recognized as such. Endowed with a profound sense of timelessness and narrative depth, his work explores the ephemeral and the complexity of the human condition with astonishing artistic versatility and variety.

Irving Penn. Picture of self, Cuzco, 1948. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Celebrating Irving Penn's incomparable career on the occasion of the photographer's centenary in 2017, Irving Penn: Centennial is a survey of 175 iconic photographs and other unique pieces taken between the late 1930s and the first decade of the 21st century.

Like the backdrop he used in his studio, the exhibition covers all facets of Irving Penn's prolific work: fashion photographs; exquisite nudes and floral compositions; the still lifes for which he was fond throughout his life; many of the portraits of personalities that made him famous; or his photographic series of ordinary people taken in different corners of the world.

Irving Penn: Centennial. Fotografía cortesía por Fundación MOP. — Irving Penn: Centennial. Photograph courtesy by MOP Foundation.

The exhibition is the fourth major exhibition of The MOP Foundation, organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in collaboration with the Irving Penn Foundation and curated by Jeff L. Rosenheim, Joyce Frank Menschel Curator in Charge of Photography at The Met.

Following the line of previous exhibitions, visitors will discover in the Silo nave and in the outdoor space of the MOP Foundation a new set designed specifically for the exhibition, accompanied by the reopening of the bookstore specializing in photography, fashion, design and other artistic disciplines of the foundation.

On the occasion of the arrival of Irving Penn: Centennial to the city of A Coruña, the MOP Foundation publishes an exclusive catalogue in Spanish that offers a selection of three hundred photographs by Penn, including both his most iconic images and unpublished works, accompanied by a series of essays that allow us to learn about the main themes and works of the photographer.

Irving Penn: Centennial. Photograph courtesy by MOP Foundation.

Irving Penn. After-Dinner Games, New York, 1947. Photograph courtesy by Condé Nast.

Irving Penn. Black and White Fashion with Handbag (Jean Patchett). New York, 1950. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Pablo Picasso at La Californie, Cannes, 1957. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Cigarette No. 37, New York, 1972. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Fishmonger, London, 1950. Photograph courtesy by Condé Nast.

Irving Penn. Glove and Shoe, New York, 1947. Photograph courtesy by Condé Nast.

Irving Penn. Rochas Mermaid Dress (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn),Paris, 1950. Photograph courtesy by Condé Nast.

Irving Penn. Two Miyake Warriors, New York, 1998. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Mouth (for L’Oréal), New York, 1986. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Three Asaro Mud Men, New Guinea, 1970. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Tribesman with Nose Disc, New Guinea, 1970. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Nude No. 72, New York, 1949–50. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Marlene Dietrich, New York, 1948. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Hell’s Angel (Doug), San Francisco, 1967. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Woman in Chicken Hat (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), New York, 1949. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Naomi Sims in Scarf, New York, ca. 1969. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

Irving Penn. Single Oriental Poppy, New York, 1968. Photograph courtesy by The Irving Penn Foundation.

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More information

Label

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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Developer

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Fundación Marta Ortega Pérez.

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Dates

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From November 23, 2024 to May 1, 2025.

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Location

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Muelle de Batería s/n, A Coruña, Galicia. Spain.

Irving Penn

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.

Published on: December 1, 2024

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