From November 8, 2024, to March 23, 2025, Caumont - Centre d’Art invites us to discover the work of Steve McCurry like we have never seen before. Through a selection of photographs that are all more spectacular than the last, the institution explores the artist's fascination with the elsewhere, the universal, and the human condition. A unique exhibition highlighting the poignant images of someone who defines himself as a true “visual storyteller”.
Steve McCurry, Rangoon, Myanmar (formerly Burma) 1994 © Steve McCurry, “in partnership with Orion57”, Curator Biba Giacchetti
When Poetry Is Written with Images
Steve McCurry has covered the Iran-Iraq war, the Gulf War, crossed the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the war against the USSR, and traveled around the world, engaging with communities directly affected by armed conflicts. His photographs have left a mark on the collective imagination, like his famous portrait of a young Afghan girl with piercing green eyes. It is, in fact, this report on Afghanistan that won him the Robert Capa Gold Medal in 1980, which brought him international acclaim.
Steve McCurry, Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) 1994 © Steve McCurry, “in partnership with Orion57”, Curator Biba Giacchetti
However, the photographer is not just a photojournalist; quite the opposite! Throughout his remarkable career, he has strived to capture everyday life, highlighting the extraordinary in the ordinary. From the innocence of children in the face of war to the resilience of adults during the monsoon, he doesn't hesitate to travel the globe – and sometimes put his life at risk – to present us with the poetry of the world through images that, as the saying goes, are undoubtedly worth a thousand words.
All the facets of humanity
As you move through the galleries, the snapshots reveal themselves, dSome for the first time in France, to show us the different ways humans inhabit the world. How they nourish themselves, move around, study, pray, or play. How they interact with each other or with the world around them. In his own way, Steve McCurry reveals all the faces of Man, telling stories of joy, survival, curiosity, and sometimes pain. A powerful visual testimony that presents the brutality of the world, but also its beauty.
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Steve McCurry, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1996 © Steve McCurry, “in partnership with Orion57”, Curator Biba Giacchetti
In total, over 80 iconic works by the photographer await us, constantly crossing the boundary between ancestral traditions and contemporary cultures. Through the faces, gazes, and bodies, we are invited on this symbolic journey to discover the global population in all its depth. It’s a unique opportunity to look through Steve McCurry's lens and explore his complex and contrasting universe, where humanity evolves like a catalyst in the world.
Steve McCurry: Perspectives
Caumont - Centre d’Art
3 Joseph-Cabassol Street – Aix-en-Provence
From November 8, 2024, to March 23, 2025
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