ICP Announces William Klein Retrospective, June 3—September 15, 2022

Museum
Mar 10, 2022

William Klein: YES; Photographs, Paintings, Films, 1948–2013

On View 

June 3, 2022—September 15, 2022
 
Location
79 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002 
 

NEW YORK, NY (March 10, 2022)—The International Center of Photography (ICP) announces a major retrospective exhibition showcasing the work of William Klein in summer 2022. The first U.S. exhibition devoted to Klein’s work in more than a generation, William Klein: YES; Photographs, Paintings, Films, 1948–2013 will fill ICP’s entire museum space and spans Klein’s career from a studio assistant to Fernand Léger in Paris to photographing Brooklyn, NY. William Klein: YES will be on view at ICP from June 3 through September 15, 2022, and is curated by David Campany, ICP’s Curator-at-Large.

William Klein: YES will feature more than 200 works, including photographs, paintings, films, photobooks, and other media from Klein’s six-decade career. A fully illustrated catalogue, written by David Campany and published by Thames & Hudson, will accompany the exhibition.

William Klein: YES; Photographs, Paintings, Films, 1948–2013
Street photographer. Fashion photographer. Painter. Graphic designer. Abstract artist. Writer. Filmmaker. Book maker. Few have transformed as many fields of art and culture as William Klein. From his wildly inventive photographic studies of New York, Rome, Moscow, and Tokyo to bold and witty fashion photographs; from cameraless abstract photography to iconic celebrity portraits; from documentary films about Muhammad Ali, Little Richard, and the Pan-African Festival of Algiers to fiction films about the beauty industry, imperialism, and consumer culture, Klein has made every form and genre his own. Through it all runs his distinct graphic energy and deep affection for humanity’s struggles through the chaos of modern life.

Born in Manhattan in 1928, Klein visited the city’s art museums as a teenager and longed to get to Europe. By 1948 he was in Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne, worked briefly under artist Fernand Léger, and where he has lived ever since. For decades he juggled commercial assignments around the world with personal projects in photography, film, painting, and publishing. His output was prodigious. There were few exhibitions until the late 1980s, when he began to look back at his achievements. Gaining the admiration of younger generations, he returned to the fashion world and continued to make groundbreaking films and photobooks.

Exhibition Access
ICP is open every day except Tuesday from 11 AM to 7 PM, and until 9 PM on Thursdays. Admission: Adults $16; Seniors (62 and Over), Students (with Valid ID), Military, Visitors with Disabilities $12 (caregivers are free); SNAP/EBT card holders $3; ICP members, ICP students, and all visitors 16 years old and under are free. Admission is by suggested donation on Thursdays from 6 to 9 PM.

Admission to ICP is by timed ticketed entry only to ensure limited capacity and other safety standards are met. Tickets can be reserved online at icp.org/tickets. For more information, read ICP’s updated Visitor Information and Accessibility guidelines and policies.

Exhibition Support
William Klein: YES; Photographs, Paintings, Films, 1948-2013 has been made possible, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and public funds New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Significant support is provided by Etant donnés Contemporary Art, a program from Villa Albertine and FACE Foundation, in partnership with the French Embassy in the United States, with support from the French Ministry of Culture, Institut français, Ford Foundation, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, CHANEL, and ADAGP.



Additional support is generously provided by ICP's Exhibitions Committee, Louis Berrick, Andrew Cowan and Howard Greenberg Gallery.

           

About the International Center of Photography

The International Center of Photography is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Cornell Capa founded ICP in 1974 to champion “concerned photography”—socially and politically minded images that can educate and change the world. Through our exhibitions, education programs, community outreach, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. Since its inception, ICP has presented more 700 exhibitions, provided thousands of classes, and hosted a wide variety of public programs. The International Center of Photography (ICP) launched its new integrated center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in January 2020. Located at 79 Essex Street, ICP is the cultural anchor of Essex Crossing, one of the most highly anticipated and expansive mixed-use developments in New York City. Visit icp.org to learn more.

Press Contacts

Nicole Straus Public Relations

Amanda Domizio, 347-229-2877, amanda@domiziopr.com
Margery Newman, 212-475-0252, MargeryNewman@gmail.com

Press Release