Translated by
Roberta HERRERA
Printed
November 25, 2024
The Marta Ortega Basis – Fundación MOP
Initially created to commemorate the 2017 centenary of Penn’s delivery, the exhibition entitled “Irving Penn: Centennial” was first proven at The Metropolitan Museum of Artwork in New York. It has since toured internationally to cities together with Paris, Berlin, San Francisco, and São Paulo. Its arrival in A Coruña, dwelling to Inditex’s headquarters, marks the ultimate stage of this monumental mission.
For the Marta Ortega Basis, based by the chairwoman of Inditex, internet hosting this exhibition in A Coruña is a proud second and a continuation of its mission to advertise pictures, a dedication established two years in the past.
“Irving Penn: Centennial” is being held in an industrial-style venue enhanced with an architectural set up particularly designed for the event. Guests can browse greater than 160 pictures alongside distinctive artefacts, together with the long-lasting backdrop Penn utilized in his studio. The exhibition gives a complete view of the photographer’s multifaceted profession, from nonetheless lifes and floral compositions to portraits of famend cultural figures.
The exhibition options portraits of luminaries comparable to Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, Gianni Versace, Issey Miyake, Yves Saint Laurent, Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Salvador Dalí, Zaha Hadid, and Richard Avedon. True to Penn’s democratic imaginative and prescient, it additionally contains portraits of on a regular basis individuals captured throughout his travels.
The actress Marlene Dietrich – Fundación MOP
“Irving Penn worked at Vogue with the clear understanding that he was an artist,” stated Jeff L. Rosenheim, the exhibition’s curator, including that the showcase contains “some of the most beautiful objects in the history of photography and handmade prints.” Tom Penn, govt director of the Irving Penn Basis and the photographer’s son, mirrored on his father’s dedication to his craft, noting that Penn’s meticulous printing methods typically required over 50 hours of labor. “The decline of magazines motivated my father to prove how photography could achieve extraordinary quality,” he remarked.
Marta Ortega celebrated the exhibition’s opening, describing it as an honour to host such an vital showcase in A Coruña. “Irving Penn’s image-making is exemplary. The ordinary becomes extraordinary, revealing the profound beauty of simplicity. His work captures more than moments in time—it captures the essence of his subjects, inviting us to see the world differently,” she stated. Ortega additionally reiterated the Basis’s goal to current the best vogue pictures exhibitions whereas asserting the publication of an unique Spanish-language exhibition catalogue, that includes almost 300 pictures from the artist.
Forward of its public opening, the Basis hosted a non-public preview occasion on November 20, attended by an array of celebrities and trade figures. Among the many visitors had been supermodels Linda Evangelista, Malgosia Bela, and Eugenia Silva; Pierpaolo Piccioli, former inventive director of Valentino; Alaïa designer Pieter Mulier; Balenciaga inventive director Demna Gvasalia; stylist Ludivine Poiblanc; and Saint Laurent CEO Cédric Charbit.
The occasion turned A Coruña right into a glittering worldwide crimson carpet, sparking pleasure amongst locals who gathered exterior the NH Assortment Finisterre resort, the place lots of the visitors had been staying.
The revamped bookstore inside the exhibition house – Fundación MOP
Past the glamour, the Marta Ortega Basis’s work considerably elevates A Coruña’s profile as a hub for tradition and vogue. Exhibitions comparable to “Peter Lindbergh: Untold Stories”, “Steven Meisel 1993: A Year in Photographs”, and “Helmut Newton: Fact & Fiction” have cemented the town’s status for internet hosting main creative occasions, typically bringing exhibitions to a wider viewers exterior conventional cultural capitals. Very like Inditex’s headquarters in Arteixo function a company anchor, the Basis’s actions assert its deep connection to Galicia whereas selling worldwide outreach.
Admission to “Irving Penn: Centennial” is free, with the exhibition operating each day till Might 1, 2025. Proceeds from merchandise gross sales—together with posters, postcards, notebooks, and sweatshirts—will assist the Basis’s “Future Tales” initiative, geared toward nurturing younger creative expertise. Moreover, the Basis has revamped its vogue, artwork, and design bookstore housed within the venue’s spiral-designed silo, which additionally features a small café for guests.
