Vivian Maier

11 Jun-25 Sep 2022

Overview

This exhibition is curated by Anne Morin and has been produced by diChroma Photography.

Vivian Maier (1926-2009) has only recently been revealed as one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century. She was a professional nanny in New York and Chicago for over 40 years but took hundreds of thousands of photographs, which were found when her belongings went to auction in 2007.

From carefree children and glamorous housewives to the homeless and destitute, Maier’s portraits capture the highs and lows of everyday life. Street scenes with shop fronts, arcades and aerial shots use shadows and reflections to capture the improvised moments that make up a community. Smouldering furniture, abandoned toys, tangles of electric cables all set the scene as families, workers and commuters go about their daily business.

Being self-taught and anonymous, Maier presents a view of America that is as eclectic as it is intimate and piercing. Her craft and vision far surpassed that of any part-time hobbyist and although considered reclusive, she produced many experimental self-portraits. As with all her work, these images are infused with the wit, humour and deep sense of humanity that has attracted a cult following since Maier’s emergence after the Oscar-nominated documentary Finding Vivian Maier (2013).