The Musée Barbier-Mueller has invited the celebrated photographer Steve McCurry to set up a common exhibition conveying their shared values of openness to humanity and sensitivity to beauty.
Steve McCurry explores the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi (the beauty of the imperfect, impermanence and incompleteness) through thirty of his works.
Combining images by the artist with objects from its collections, the Musée Barbier-Mueller looked at formal criteria. The resulting juxtapositions offer a new perspective on one of the most-recognized photographers in the world, creating echoes, both narrative and aesthetic.
Steve McCurry Studios
Concept: Bonnie McCurry V’Soske
In collaboration with Biba Giacchetti and Sudest 57
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Man walks through ruins, Kabul, Afghanistan,
2003. ©Steve McCurry.
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Lukwakongo mask. Lega. Democratic Republic
of the Congo. 20th century. Whitened wood.
H. 15.5 cm. Inv. 1026-465. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet.
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Afghan soldiers, Kabul, Afghanistan, 2016.
©Steve McCurry.
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Male head or mask. Probably from eastern
Syria, sphere of influence of the city of Mari (present day
Tall Hariri). Sumerian civilization. Early Dynastic
(mid-3rd millennium BCE). Limestone, bitumen, and
black and white stones. H. 12 cm. Inv. 240-107. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet.
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Boy from the Suri people, Omo Valley, Ethiopia,
2014. ©Steve McCurry.
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Face mask. Acquired from the Songye,
Democratic Republic of the Congo. 20th century.
Wood, with white paint and traces of blue and brown
decoration, upholstery tacks, metal teeth, bast
fibers, and bast weave. H. 30 cm. Former Berthe
Hartert collection. Inv. 1026-291. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet.
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Galapagos, Ecuador, 2017. ©Steve McCurry.
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“Eye idol.” Upper Tigris region, Iraq or Syria,
northern Mesopotamia. Late 4th millennium BCE.
Limestone. H. 29.5 cm. Inv. 240-202. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet.
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Cinecittà film studios, Rome, Italy. 2017. ©Steve McCurry.
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Nwantantay plank mask. Bwa. Burkina Faso.
20th century. Wood, painted in black, white, and red.
H. 203 cm. Former Josef Mueller collection, acquired
from Emil Storrer in 1953. Inv. 1005-10. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet.
