La retrospective « William Klein : Films, Etc. » à la MEP

Maison Européenne de la Photographie

From June to September 2026, and on the occasion of William Klein's centenary, the MEP pays tribute to him through an exceptional cinematographic retrospective, produced in partnership with the Studio William Klein. The screening cycle is extended by a display of photographs from the MEP collections, as well as graphic works and books, arranged throughout the spaces. The MEP has maintained a close relationship with William Klein and his studio for many years. Since its opening in 1996, it has devoted several major exhibitions to him and today holds one of the most important collections of his work, with more than 300 pieces – photographs, films and books. William Klein, photographer, painter and filmmaker, profoundly disrupted the codes of the image. Through this large-scale retrospective, tracing the whole of his career, the MEP pays tribute to a hybrid, uncategorizable body of work – a cinema both recognized and underground, which never allowed itself to be confined. From June until September 2026, from Wednesday to Saturday in the late afternoon, the MEP will present, in its auditorium, the artist's great classics (Qui êtes-vous Polly Maggoo ?, Muhammad Ali the Greatest, Mr Freedom…), but also rare films, some of them previously unseen (L'anniversaire de Charlotte, The Little Richard Story…), as well as numerous archives. By bringing together the different facets of a body of work that tirelessly took on power structures and conventions, tearing down masks with jubilant freedom, this retrospective reveals the full contemporary relevance of William Klein's gaze. Klein always remained true to himself. It is also with the desire to remain true to the turmoil he loved to seize "bodily" that this retrospective was conceived. The retrospective is accompanied by a display of a selection of William Klein's photographic works, held by the MEP.

Source: Paris Open Data ↗