The institution has maintained a close relationship with the artist and his studio for many years. Since its opening in 1996, it has dedicated several major exhibitions to him and today preserves one of the most significant collections of his work, comprising over 300 pieces—photographs, films, and books.
William Klein—a photographer, painter, and filmmaker—profoundly disrupted the conventions of the image. Through this major retrospective collection retracing his entire career, the MEP pays tribute to a hybrid body of work that defies categorisation—a cinema that is both acclaimed and underground, and which has never allowed itself to be confined.
From June to September 2026, from Wednesday to Saturday in the late afternoon, the MEP will present the artist’s great classics in its auditorium (Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, Muhammad Ali, the Greatest, Mr. Freedom…), alongside rare films, some of which are extremely rare (L’anniversaire de Charlotte, The Little Richard Story…), as well as numerous archives.
By bringing together the different facets of a piece that relentlessly challenged authority and conventions, tearing down masks with exhilarating freedom, this retrospective reveals the striking contemporaneity of William Klein’s vision.
Klein always remained true to himself. It is also with the desire to remain faithful to the tumult he loved to tackle “head-on” that this retrospective was conceived. The screening programme is accompanied by a display of a selection of William Klein’s photographic works held at the MEP.
Curatorship by Emmanuel Baquet.
