In 1966, at the age of 28 and shortly after leaving his advertising job in New York to pursue photography, Meyerowitz set off on a year-long road trip around Europe. He drove 20,000 miles through 10 countries and took 25,000 photographs. During this period, Meyerowitz settled in Málaga for six months, where he befriended the Escalona family, one of the city’s traditional flamenco families. While in Málaga, Meyerowitz took 8,500 photographs and made hours of high-quality sound recordings of live flamenco performances.
This unique experience resulted in an extraordinary photographic record of Spain during the height of the Francoist dictatorship, which had a significant and lasting impact on Meyerowitz’s distinctive photography style. Meyerowitz is now recognized as one of the leading photographers of his generation who redefined how reality can be captured and communicated through a camera. After returning to New York, Meyerowitz had his first solo exhibition at MoMA in 1968, featuring 40 photographs taken from the window of his moving car while in Europe.
The exhibition will feature vintage and large-format prints in both color and black and white, providing an in-depth account of Meyerowitz’s travels through England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, with a focus on the significance of his extended stay in Málaga.
Tracing Meyerowitz’s artistic evolution during his time in Europe, the exhibition will showcase portraits of local people, unique moments captured in everyday street scenes, urban and natural landscapes, and photographs taken from inside his moving car. The exhibition will also include a selection of original prints from his first solo exhibition at MoMA in 1968.