The Museo Picasso Málaga is staging an exhibition on Joel Meyerowitz, a pioneer of colour photography, which examines the trip he made to Europe from the autumn of 1966 to the autumn of 1967. The show, which opens in mid-June and will run until early 2025, will be on view in the temporary exhibition rooms on the first floor, and explores the photographer’s travels around Europe, with a special emphasis on his long stay in Málaga.

In 1966 Meyerowitz embarked on a year-long trip around Europe by car with his first wife, covering more than 30,000 kilometres and taking 25,000 black-and-white and colour photographs. After this epic journey, he held his first solo exhibition at the MoMA in 1968. The show at the Museo Picasso Málaga, curated by its artistic director, Miguel López-Remiro, is the result of a research project that began in 2015. López-Remiro reveals that the photographer spent six months of his year-long trip in Málaga. During that time he took more than 8,500 pictures, and also made hours of (high-quality) sound recordings of flamenco. Meyerowitz’s unique photographic documentary record of the city changed the course of his career and his way of taking photographs, and provides viewers with a vivid sense of his European travels. The exhibition does not simply show large photographs and vintage prints of his trip and long stopover in Málaga. It also gives an immersive account of Meyerowitz’s European travels, offering visitors the experience of a ‘meta-trip’ or of accompanying him on his adventure and the key factors that led him to this Andalusian city.

The emotional journey around the exhibition traces Meyerowitz’s artistic evolution in Europe, from his pictures taken from a moving car travelling across the continent to a reflection and fragmentation of the reality of the streets and the natural and urban landscape. It reveals the change the young Meyerowitz’s way of portraying and responding to reality underwent, with a special focus on his poetic and transformative experience in Málaga.

This fresh look at a pivotal stage in the development of Joel Meyerowitz’s language has a powerful dimension in terms of scale and narrative. His introspective work for the exhibition and his participation in its development and in the extensive programme of educational activities that the museum is preparing are an exceptional opportunity to discover his experience of a journey that ultimately reveals the shaping of an idea of Europe.

This exhibition at the Museo Picasso Málaga promises to be a powerful and moving experience, offering a profound insight into the work of this masterful photographer and his connection with the city of Málaga.

About Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz, born in the Bronx, New York, in 1938, studied art at Ohio University. His discovery of Robert Frank’s photography in 1962 marked the beginning of his dedication to this art. Following the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, Meyerowitz transformed the medium with his pioneering use of colour, shifting away from natural landscapes and becoming known for his powerful ranges of colour. A recipient of Guggenheim Fellowships and a winner of NEA and NEH awards, Meyerowitz has shown his work in more than 350 museum and gallery exhibitions worldwide. His unrestricted access to Ground Zero after 9/11 led him to represent the United States at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002. His photographs are part of prominent collections such as those of the MoMA, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

Joel Meyerowitz, Málaga, 1966–67, 35 mm film., colour © Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz, Málaga, 1966–67, 35 mm film, colour © Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz, Málaga, 1966–67, 35 mm film, colour © Joel Meyerowitz