Works by Irving Penn (1917-2009), a U.S. photographer known for his fashion photos, portraits, and still life photos, are on display at Pace Gallery (H Queen’s) in Hong Kong. Entry is free.

Penn’s career included work at Vogue magazine and independent advertising work for clients including Issey Miyake and Clinique. His works have been exhibited internationally and continue to inform the art of photography.

Featuring 30 photographs drawn from the collection of The Irving Penn Foundation, the Hong Kong exhibition showcases a selection of the artist’s most iconic works in fashion photography, portraiture, nudes and still life from four decades of his career.

One of the most esteemed artists of the 20th century, Penn reinvented fashion photography through his long career at Vogue magazine. His use of a concise, smooth style and stark black and white color palette marked an innovative shift from the ornate settings that had previously defined the genre.

While renowned for his work as a photographer, Penn initially set out to be a painter and this exhibition also features a small selection of paintings he made at the end of his career. Two of the artist’s mixed-media paintings are on display.

Making their premiere in Asia following a debut exhibition at Pace in New York in fall 2018, these late paintings reveal the artist’s largely-unknown experimentation in the medium.

Dates: Until March 7

Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (closed Sundays, Mondays)

Venue: Pace Gallery, 12/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong

MTR: Central Station

(SD News)