William Klein was never really interested in doing things the way they were supposed to be done. Photographer, filmmaker, graphic artist and painter, he moved from one world to another with the same curiosity and energy. His photographs of New York, his fashion work and his portraits of figures such as Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X all carry that same feeling of freedom.
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is currently celebrating the centenary of his birth with William Klein: Films, Etc., an exhibition that brings together photographs, graphic works, books, archives and films.
What makes the exhibition particularly interesting is the place given to Klein’s cinema. His films are an essential part of his work, and seeing them alongside his photographs gives a much better understanding of the way he thought about images. There is humour, provocation, politics, movement and sometimes complete chaos. But there is always life.
The MEP holds more than 300 works by William Klein, making this exhibition a wonderful opportunity to discover both the photographer we already know and the filmmaker who is sometimes less familiar.
William Klein: Films, Etc.
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
5/7 rue de Fourcy
75004 Paris, France
June 10 to September 13, 2026
The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of film screenings during its final weeks.
September 2
Short films including Broadway by Light and Contacts
September 4
Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?
September 9
In and Out of Fashion
September 11
Babilée 91, preceded by Les obsèques de François Mitterrand
September 12 at 5:30 pm
Le Messie (1999), William Klein’s final film, based on Handel’s oratorio
If you know Klein’s photography, the exhibition gives you another way of seeing his work. If you don’t know him yet, it is an excellent place to start.
And perhaps that is what makes Klein so interesting today. His work still feels spontaneous, irreverent and very much alive. He never seemed particularly concerned with making photographs that behaved themselves. Neither should we be.
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