Vivian Maier | Unseen Work

Unseen Work, the first Shanghai exhibition of legendary nanny-photographer Vivian Maier (1926–2009), marks the centenary of her birth.

Dubbed "the most mysterious photographic genius of the 20th century," Maier worked as a nanny for five decades while secretly creating over 150,000 photographs.
Discovered by chance in 2007 when her negatives were purchased at auction, Maier lacked formal training yet possessed an uncanny ability to seize the "decisive moment."

Walking the streets of American cities between childcare duties, she captured fleeting moments of ordinary life with masterful composition and social observation.
Her work blends compassion, humor, and acute social insight, prompting The New Yorker to hail it as "an achievement that rewrites photographic history."

Her travels extended globally, including to Hong Kong and Macao.
This show presents over 200 vintage and modern prints, including previously unseen images from her travels in Asia, along with her 8mm footage and personal artifacts like her Rolleiflex camera.

Structured thematically, the exhibition traces her career from introspective self-portraits through reflections to later color experiments.
Maier never printed most negatives nor sought recognition—she created purely from inner calling.

Self-portrait, Chicago, IL, 1956 © Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY

This show invites visitors into her solitary, richly expressive world for a dialogue across time.

Until July 19

Daily, 10.30am-11pm
RMB80 Weekday, RMB100 Weekend
Ticket covers all ongoing exhibitions in Fotografiska
Fotografiska Shanghai 127 Guangfu Lu, by Jinyuan Lu, Jing'an District 光复路127号, 近晋元路
Source: ThatsShanghai