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From 17th November to 13th February, Madrid’s Official College of Architects (COAM) will be home to one of the most comprehensive retrospective exhibitions ever held of works by the famous American photographer Steve McCurry. The show features the most iconic images of his career with more than 100 large-format photographs including the legendary portrait of the Afghan girl Sharbat Gla in 1984.

Curated by Biba Giacchetti, the exhibition invites the public to travel through McCurry's photographic universe on a journey from Afghanistan to India, South East Asia to Africa, Cuba to the United States and from Brazil to Italy. A fascinating repertoire of images that always focuses on the human element. People of different ages, cultures and ethnicities portrayed with great power and an absence of artifice.

The exhibition showcases over 100 large format photographs including the popular portrait of Afghan girl Sharbat Gla taken in 1984, which was the cover of National Geographic magazine  in 1985. You can also see other well-known images that the photographer captured throughout his forty-year career, as well as his most recent works.

Accompanying the photographs will be several videos about his travels, adventures, and profession, exploring his life as a photographer, how the images were captured, and the people portrayed in them. The exhibition also sets out McCurry's achievements and reveals his approach to photography as well as his desire to share emotion in the face of human suffering, joy, and amazement.

Steve McCurry (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1950) is considered one of the best-known contemporary photographers and is an inspiration to many artists especially for younger generations. His photographs expose a complex world of experiences and emotions that connect the viewer with different realities and ways of understanding life.

Over the past 30 years, his work has been featured in dozens of magazine and book covers, more than a dozen of his own publications, and countless exhibitions throughout the world. His images address conflicts, dying cultures, ancient traditions, and contemporary societies, always with his special way of capturing people. 

Image credits:

• Sharbat Gla, Afghan Girl, Pakistan (1984) - © Steve McCurry 
• Rabari Tribal Elder, 2010 - © Steve McCurry 
• West Bengal, India - © Steve McCurry 
• Dust Storm, Rajasthan, India, 1983 - © Steve McCurry 
• Kashmiri Man with Henna Beard, 1995 - © Steve McCurry 
• Kashmir Flower Seller, 1996 - © Steve McCurry 
• Gulmarg, Kashmir, 1999 - © Steve McCurry