William Klein was born in New York. At the beginning of his career he was influenced by geometric and abstract art during his brief study with Fernand Leger which led him to discover the possibilities in photography whilst he was dealing with ‘hard edge’ painting (geometric and abstract painting). In a variety of genres he is not afraid to describe his world. His shocking ‘New York’ photographs show the dark and violent world as real as possible. These powerful works draws us into the world where we can cross between reality and trance. By introducing new techniques to fashion photography he invites us into a creative world where fashion and art coexist.

The field of photography and also in the 20th century art world, William Klein is one of the most influential artists. He is not only a photographer but also a painter, film producer and graphic designer. In order to show more than what can be portrayed through his photographs he started work as a film director. His main film works include “Who are you, Polly Maggoo? (1966)” and “In and Out of Fashion (1993)”.

William Klein received Prix Nadar in 1965, the most honorable prize given to photographers in France; Medal of the century from the Royal Photographic Society in London, international award from Guggenheim in 1987 and in 2007 he received the Life Time Achievement Award from ICP (International Center of Photography). William Klein’s exhibitions have been held in MOMA which contains the best collections of the world, Centre Pompidou, and FNAC and his works are part of the museum collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art etc.