Exteriors — Annie Ernaux and Photography
The MEP is proud to host an exhibition of photographs from its collection conceived with Annie Ernaux and paying tribute to her literary work. The exhibition combines texts from Ernaux’s book Exteriors (Journal du dehors), 1993 – a record of happenings on trains, shops and streets in-and-around Cergy-Pontoise between 1985 and 1992 – with more than one hundred and fifty images from the MEP collection by major photographers such as Harry Callahan, Claude Dityvon, Dolorès Marat, Daido Moriyama, Janine Niepce, Issei Suda, Henry Wessel and Bernard Pierre Wolff, amongst others. The image selection covers the second half of 20th century and includes photographs mostly taken in France but also in England, Japan, USA and other countries.
Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn — Fashion Icon
This exhibition presents the personal collection of the greatest model of her time. Featuring almost 150 prints made between 1935 and 1955 by masters of photography such as Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn, Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Erwin Blumenfeld, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the golden age of fashion photography, magnified by an exceptional personality.
Tom Penn, son of Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn and Irving Penn, proposed this exhibition project to the MEP. He has generously donated part of this remarkable collection to the MEP.
At the Studio
Iris Millot from 28.02.2024 to 07.04.2024
Winner of the 2023 Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award fo Young Talents
Pooya Abbasian from 11.04.2024 to 26.05.2024
To the left : Dolorès Marat, La femme aux gants (Woman with gloves), 1987. Fresson four-colour pigment print. MEP Collection, Paris. Acquired in 2001. © Dolorès Marat.
To the right : Irving Penn, Lisa Fonssagrives wearing a dress by Antonio del Castillo for Lanvin for the cover of US Vogue, November 1, 1949. Gelatin silver print. Loan from the Archive of Tom Penn. © Condé Nast