Peter Fetterman Gallery is proud to present a major William Klein exhibition in Los Angeles: “William Klein: In Your Face!” Opening On Saturday, January 10th and running through May 31st, this exhibition will offer an extraordinary look into Klein’s energetic perception of the world and his “no-rules” attitude toward the photographic medium. The opening reception will be held January 10 from 3-6pm.
Utilizing the main gallery space, this exhibition explores how Klein shifted his lens away from traditional elegance and toward the raw vitality of real life—its movement, its unpredictability, and its unscripted moments. Klein wasn’t interested in perfection. He was drawn to the pulse of everyday life and the people around him, absorbing the lifeforce of wherever he was onto celluloid film. Instead of smoothing over the messiness of life, he embraced it. As Klein famously noted, “It’s not necessary to make order out of chaos. Chaos itself is interesting.”
Klein also transformed the photobook as a medium with his groundbreaking works of the 20th century, including Life Is Good and Good for You in New York: Trance Witness Revels. The book conveyed a striking immediacy that challenged conventional photography of the era. This approach paved the way for Klein’s innovative work with Vogue, where his unconventional techniques helped redefine fashion photography. His fashion images retained the same vitality and energy as his street photography, capturing the elegance of the garments while juxtaposing them seamlessly against the raw textures of the urban environment.
This exhibition brings together the grit and immediacy that have defined Klein’s legacy. It’s a reminder that photography’s greatest power often lies not in polish, but in capturing life at its most honest and alive.