Le 1er mars 2022
Steve McCurry at the Maillol Museum & artist’s studio at la Ruche in Paris
The World of Steve McCurry
The exhibition « The World of Steve McCurry » offers a retrospective of the photographs of the famous American contemporary photographer Steve McCurry. More than 150 photographs printed in large format will be shown for the first time in Paris. Among them, many are famous and have traveled the world, including that of « the young Afghan woman with green eyes ».
The exhibition, conceived by Biba Giacchetti, is the largest and most comprehensive dedicated to the great American photographer and his forty-year career. It also features his most recent photographs and many never-before-seen photographs.
Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic figures in contemporary photography for more than five decades. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied cinematography at Pennsylvania State University, before going on to work for a newspaper. After two years, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
It was after several months of travel that he crossed the border into Pakistan. In a small village, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian invasion was closing the country to Western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with a full beard and weather-worn features after months embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry made his way over the Pakistan border with his film sewn into his clothes.
McCurry’s images were among the first to show the world the brutality of the Russian invasion. Since then, McCurry has gone on to create unforgettable images over all seven continents and numerous countries. His body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions, and contemporary culture alike – yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl such a powerful image. McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest. Most recently, the Royal Photographic Society in London awarded McCurry the Centenary Medal for Lifetime Achievement and in 2019, McCurry was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.
La Ruche
La Ruche was born out of the generosity of the sculptor Alfred Boucher (1850-1934), who rose from modest circumstances to become a famous and wealthy artist. In 1900, he acquired a 5,000 square meter plot of land in the Passage Dantzig, and after the 1900 World’s Fair, he bought the Gironde wine pavilion designed by Gustave Eiffel at auction. The site is managed by the Fondation la Ruche and run by a board of directors. About fifty artists are currently working there. This site aims to present their work and their news, as well as the activities that take place in the collective room, exhibitions, lectures, meetings.
Among its historical occupants: Fernand Léger, Chaïm Soutine, Zadkine, Archipenko, Marc Chagall, Michel Kikoïne, Jacques Chapiro, Jacques Lipchitz, Henri Laurens, Blaise Cendrars and its founder Alfred Boucher who was Camille Claudel’s teacher. The Camille Claudel Museum preserves a large part of her works in Nogent-sur-Seine.
The name « Ruche » comes from Boucher himself, who considers the buzzing artists who live in the city as bees in a huge hive. In 1905, the city had 90 artists and the Hive 110 studios. Alfred Boucher required his residents to meet in a studio where a model, often Margot, a doll maker paid by Boucher, posed. The Hive is comparable to the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre. After the First World War, it supplanted the latter by its artistic activities and its fame.
Réservation & information
Private visit in English & French. Price and detailed program on request. As we have only limited number of places, thank you for contacting us as per email at cotedazur@la-visite.eu