Blog | HPRG Irving Penn exhibition at the Grand Palais 21st September 2017 – 29th January 2018 – Hotels Paris Rive Gauche Blog

Irving Penn exhibition at the Grand Palais
21st September 2017 – 29th January 2018

To celebrate the centenary of his birth, the Grand Palais pays homage to one of the most important photographers of the 20th century Irving Penn.

Organised in partnership with the Met in New York, the exhibition explores the talent of the man who immortalised Yves Saint Laurent, Audrey Hepburn, Pablo Picasso, Alfred Hitchcock and many more. However, Penn’s work wasn’t limited to simple portraiture, far from it…

This is the first European retrospective of his work to be organised since his death! Here are all the details.
Exposition Irving Penn au Grand Palais du 21 septembre 2017 au 29 janvier 2018Irving Penn, who died less than ten years ago at the age of 92, left his mark on the 20th century with a style both simple and elegant. However Penn was a perfectionist, carefully preparing his shots and taking much care over the development, which he also did himself.

His photos of Hollywood stars have now become icons, giving viewers the impression of entering into the person’s personal space, and yet Penn was not just a master of portraiture – fashion and advertising allowed him to express himself differently, just as his still lifes and photos of flowers hinted at his fragility and showed his incredible sense of composition.

Exposition Irving Penn au Grand Palais du 21 septembre 2017 au 29 janvier 2018
© Condé Nast

At the end of the exhibition, you can try your hand at portraiture too… with a photobooth self portrait! (4 shots for 3€, printed in 4 minutes).

Also, Penn’s New York studio will be partially recreated in the exhibition, including the famous backdrop in front of which so many masterpieces were taken.

To delve even further into the world of Penn:

– There is an inaugural conference by the curators of the exhibition on 22nd September at 12.30pm in the auditorium (free, but you need to download an invite here)

– A smartphone app is available for the exhibition (click here while surfin on a compatible phone).

– A large catalogue of the exhibition is being published (360 pages, 300 illustrations, 59€ here at amazon.fr)

And the good news is that for the Nuit Blanche (White Night) even on 7th October, the exhibition is free from 8pm-midnight, with musicians on site playing music by George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter…

The Irving Penn exhibition is at the Grand Palais (here) from 21st September 2017 – 29th January 2018

Open every day except Tuesdays from 10am-8pm (10pm Wednesdays)

Closes at 6pm on 24th & 31st December. Closed 25th December

Admission: 13€ / 9€

Website: www.grandpalais.fr

Facebook: facebook.com/GrandPalais.RMN

Twitter: twitter.com/GrandPalaisRmn #IrvingPenn

Instagram: instagram.com/le_grand_palais