Contacts:
Mia DiMeo/Nick Harkin
Carol Fox and Associates
miad@carolfoxassociates.com
nickh@carolfoxassociates.com
773-327-3830 x. 101/103
THOMAS MASTERS GALLERY DEBUTS EXHIBITION OF VIVIAN MAIER PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE JEFFREY GOLDSTEIN COLLECTION SEPTEMBER 7, 2012
“Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows” Reveals New Chapters in her Increasingly Diverse and Prolific Body of Documentary Photography
CHICAGO – Thomas Masters is proud to present an exhibition of photographs by Vivian Maier (1926 ‐ 2009) taken from Jeffrey Goldstein’s collection of her work—about 20,000 black and white negatives, color slides and vintage prints. Opening September 7 at Thomas Masters Gallery (245 W North Ave Chicago, IL,) “Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows” puts her work in the context of her life during her highly creative period from the 1950s through the 1970s. The photographs were chosen from nearly 300 images appearing in a book to be released in September, also titled Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows, by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams.
Maier’s work was discovered in 2007 when boxes of abandoned prints, negatives and undeveloped film were sold in an auction in Chicago. In a few years she has gone from an unknown artist to the creator of images that now play a significant role in the history of photography. Maier shot many of her most iconic pictures while working as a nanny for suburban Chicago families, a job that allowed her to travel, as shown in her photographs of New York, South Dakota, Florida and California, as well as the rural pastures of Southern France.
In addition to her characteristic street portraiture, this exhibit will feature a prolific catalog of images that show an artist with relentless curiosity that worked in a vast range of subjects and styles. Maier’s unique ability to brilliantly capture the zeitgeist is particularly apparent shots of Chicago’s famous Maxwell Street and in protest scenes shot during the social unrest of 1968. Echoing the chapters in the upcoming Vivian Maier book, the exhibition’s photographs are organized in sections: “Snapshots,” “America,” “Day,” “Maxwell,” “Beach,” “1968,” “Downtown,” “Walks,” and “Night.”
“Maier transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary in every image,” says Jeffrey Goldstein. “This exhibition demonstrates the diversity of her photographic catalog, and her uncanny ability to freeze moments in time, transforming the mundane into vivid portraits of her world.”
Each posthumous 12”x12” silver gelatin print will be produced in an edition of 15 and signed on verso by Jeffrey Goldstein and by master printers Ron Gordon and Sandra Steinbrecher. A limited edition clamshell of the book, topped by a specially produced, limited edition Maier print will also be available for purchase.
Additional events related to the exhibition include book signings and a screening of the short film “Vivian Maier, Photographer” created by Tom Palazzolo and Mike Bullis.
Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows
Curated by Jeffrey Goldstein and Anne Zakaras
Thomas Masters Gallery
September 7-October 19, 2012
Opening Reception September 7, 6-8pm
Preview September 6, 6-8pm
www.thomasmastersgallery.com
245 W North Ave #115
Chicago, IL 60610
312-440-2322
For more information on the Jeffrey Goldstein Collection, visit www.vivianmaierprints.com
Photographs from the Jeffrey Goldstein collection are also represented by the Steven Kasher Gallery (New York) and Jackson Fine Art (Atlanta.) Upcoming exhibitions of Maier’s work will take place later this year and in early 2013 at Blue Sky (Portland); Photography Center NW (Seattle) and at the John Cleary Gallery (Houston.)
The book Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows is available for pre-order through www.cityfilespress.com
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