William Klein: encore. still. ancóra (2025)

Ikona Gallery

28 luglio - 30 novembre 2025

Ikona Gallery presents William Klein: encore. still. ancóra, a solo exhibition dedicated to the photographer, marking exactly forty-six years since the gallery opened on 28 July 1979. First exhibited by Ikona Photo Gallery in Venice in 1981, William Klein now returns with a selection of sixteen original black-and-white prints from the Klein Studio in Paris.

Focusing on cities—New York, Moscow, Tokyo and Rome—and fashion, the selected images reveal a photographic practice that still—and always—embodies and distils the avant-garde, complexity and contradiction. The exhibition’s subtitle—encore. still. ancóra—expresses both continuity and change.

Returning to photography, which Ikona Gallery has consistently championed throughout its forty-six years of activity, means using images to affirm the meaning of an adverb that speaks as much of Klein as it does of Ikona. It also means continuing the act of presenting in order to ask, once again, what it means to make, exhibit and look at photography today.

William Klein’s work can be seen as an ideogram of the unprecedented, offering a powerful key through which to unlock new interpretations of reality. With this perspective, Ikona Gallery chooses to remain present—encore, still, ancóra—in this new chapter of Venice’s cultural landscape.

WILLIAM KLEIN (1926–2022)

William Klein was a leading figure of the twentieth century who left an indelible mark as a photographer, painter, filmmaker and graphic designer. His influence extended across multiple artistic disciplines, revolutionising fashion and street photography in particular. His work on major world cities—including New York (1956), Rome (1959), Moscow (1964), Tokyo (1964) and Paris (2002)—earned him international recognition and established him as one of the most distinguished photographers of his generation.

Some of the world’s most prestigious institutions have devoted major retrospectives to his work, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1980, the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2005, Tate Modern in London in 2012, the International Center of Photography in New York in 2022 and MAAT in Lisbon in 2024. These exhibitions highlighted his photography, paintings and “painted contacts”, alongside excerpts from his films.

In recognition of Klein and his work, in 2019 the Académie des Beaux-Arts established the Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Prize – William Klein. His artistic legacy lives on and continues to influence younger generations, inspiring the creative world at large.