THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition “Steve McCurry. Uplands&Icons,” set up in the cultural hub of Biella Piazzo, inside the Gromo Losa and Ferrero palaces, draws an itinerary that traces the travels and destinations reached by the great american photographer from Afghanistan to Tibet, from Mongolia to Japan, from Brazil to Burma, from the Philippines to Morocco to Yemen, in a collection of 128 images ranging from his first Afghan missions, to his most iconic images.

An exhibition where the essence of mountains and remote places with the souls of their inhabitants dominate unchallenged. 

It is to the spirit of the Mountain, its sacredness, its landscapes as well as that of its inhabitants, that is dedicated “Steve McCurry. Uplands&Icons.” In the first part, set up at Palazzo Gromo Losa with photos taken in the Uplands, the exhibition traces McCurry’s travels in the highlands, from Afghanistan to Tibet, from Mongolia to Japan, from Brazil to Burma and then the Philippines, Morocco, Yemen; more than 100 images ranging from his first Afghan missions to the most recent stages of his tireless exploration of the world, such as Mongolia and Antarctica. A tale, “listenable” in the audio guide available to the public in Italian and English, that is made up of landscapes and faces. Over all dominates the undisputed essence of the Uplands, with their extreme charm, dilated time, silence, and a way of life that oscillates between danger and resource in places distant in geography, united by a poignant beauty.

The second part of the exhibition, set up at Palazzo Ferrero, is then dedicated to his best-known and most representative photos, his Icons, with extraordinary images, including the famous Afghan girl. This section is enriched by an extensive biographical introduction and a series of video documentaries in which McCurry in the first person talks about his way of interpreting photography and describes his way of working.

The exhibition, organized by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Biella, Palazzo Gromo Losa srl, Creation and Rjma, in collaboration with the Municipality of Biella, Unesco Creative City, Polo Culturale di Biella Piazzo and Palazzo Ferrero Miscele Culturali, with main sponsor Biver Banca – Gruppo Banca di Asti, from a project by Orion57, will finally be enriched by an audio guide available for all visitors in Italian and English and a catalog, produced exclusively for the Biella exhibition.