Joël Meyerowitz. Europa

A major exhibition of early works by the renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938 in New York) will be held at the Museo Picasso Málaga from 15 June to 15 December 2024. The exhibition will bring together for the first time more than one hundred and fifty photographs taken by Meyerowitz during his initiatory road trip through Europe from 1966 to 1967, many of which have never been shown before.

This unique experience, at the height of the Franco dictatorship, had a considerable influence on Meyerowitz and a lasting impact on his distinctive style of photography. Meyerowitz is now recognised as one of the leading photographers of his generation, who redefined the way in which reality can be captured by the camera and communicated through the medium. After returning to New York, Meyerowitz had his very first solo exhibition at MoMA in 1968, comprising forty photographs taken through the window of his car as he travelled the roads of Europe.

In addition to the vintage and large-format prints (colour and black and white) on display, the exhibition offers a detailed account of Meyerowitz's travels through England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Greece and Italy, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Greece and Italy, with a particular focus on his extended stay in Malaga.

Tracing Meyerowitz's artistic development during his European travels, the exhibition features portraits of local people, unique everyday street scenes, urban and natural landscapes, and photographs taken from his car. It also includes a selection of original prints from his first solo exhibition at MoMA in 1968.
On the occasion of Meyerowitz's return to Malaga, a film produced as part of the exhibition will follow the artist as he revisits and photographs the city of today, bringing the exhibition full circle.

In 1966," says Joel Meyerowitz, "I had earned a bit of money working in advertising. Enough money to be able to travel around Europe for a year and take photographs. So I paid $1,700 in New York for a new Volvo, which I picked up in London, and for a whole year I drove around Europe... It was an incredible year, the year I came of age as an artist and as a man, and when I look back on it now, I realise that it was in Spain that I really understood what it took to become fully independent."

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