In Padua a major retrospective dedicated to Vivian Maier

From April 25 to September 28, 2025, the Altinate | San Gaetano Cultural Center in Padua will host an exhibition dedicated to Vivian Maier (New York, 1926 - Chicago, 2009), the American photographer whose talent was discovered only after her death. The exhibition curated by Anne Morin, entitled Vivian Maier. The Exhibition, brings together more than 200 black-and-white and color photographs, iconic shots, never-before-seen documents, personal objects, and an itinerary that will allow visitors to enter the world of an artist as mysterious as she was fascinating.

Born in 1926 and passed away in 2009, Vivian Maier lived a life far from the spotlight. A nanny by profession, she spent decades caring for children while secretly cultivating a deep passion for photography. Her talent emerged after her death, when her body of photographs, taken on the streets of New York and Chicago, were found. That fortuitous discovery revealed to the world an artist capable of capturing the essence of everyday American life with an acute, ironic and deeply human gaze. Her shots tell the story of 20th-century American society with incredible sensitivity, dwelling on faces, gestures and situations. Children, women, the elderly and anonymous passers-by become the protagonists of intense images, capable of stopping time and returning an authentic portrait of the era.

An exhibition itinerary of images and installations

The exhibition is divided into several thematic sections that explore the subjects and distinctive features of her style. From striking self-portraits, in which the photographer appears reflected in shop windows and mirrors, to scenes of urban life, to portraits of children and people on the margins of society, each shot tells a fragment of a world observed with attentive and sensitive eyes. Maier did more than just take photographs: he tape-recorded the voices of passersby, filmed with a Super 8 camera and jotted down details of his days. These materials will be displayed alongside his photographs, offering an experience that will allow visitors to enter his creative universe.

The exhibition is the result of a major international project. Conceived by Vertigo Syndrome and realized in collaboration with diChroma Photography, the exhibition is made possible thanks to the contribution of AcegasApsAmga and features Frecciarossa as a mobility partner and Official Train. The exhibition catalog, published by Moebius in collaboration with Réunion des musées nationaux (RMN) - Grand Palais and the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, further delves into Maier’s artistic journey, offering an opportunity to explore her legacy.

Notes on the artist.

Shrouded in an aura of mystery that has helped make her an even more fascinating figure, Vivian Maier’s story is that of a woman who turned photography into her true reason for living, while always remaining in the shadows. Never eager to show off, Maier hid behind her lens, using her Rolleiflex to capture unforgettable images, fragments of everyday life that she made immortal.

A professional as a nanny, but a photographer by passion, Maier never separated her camera, shooting with an almost compulsive urgency. Her strategy was anonymity: there were no prepared poses, no constructed scenes. She simply documented, without forcing, the life that flowed around her, often without much thought. Her shots, devoid of frills and artifice, portrayed children she cared for and those she met by chance on the street, catching their gazes with surprising sensitivity, capturing moments of pure life.

With a silent gesture of her Rolleiflex, Vivian Maier stopped time for nearly five decades, documenting an incredible variety of scenes, from Midtown bankers to homeless people sleeping in parks, from couples embracing to self-portraits. His more than 150,000 negatives cover a huge range of subjects, testifying to his meticulous documentation of everyday life, from the early postwar period to the 1990s, wherever he was. Yet until his death, his work remained unknown, hidden in hundreds of boxes. It was in 2007 that John Maloof, a real estate agent, bought part of Maier’s archive at an auction, after it had been confiscated for nonpayment. Immediately he realized he had discovered something extraordinary, and from that moment he began searching for other materials related to the mysterious photographer, collecting more than 150,000 negatives and 3,000 prints. Her efforts culminated in the co-direction of the documentary Finding Vivian Maier (2014), which brought her international fame and introduced her art to the world.

In Padua a major retrospective dedicated to Vivian Maier

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