ARTISTS
Sebasti茫o Salgado: Retrospective
Fotografiska Shanghai is honored to present the first major posthumous retrospective of Sebasti茫o Salgado (1944鈥�2025) from July 18 to November 9, 2025. Organized by Fotografiska Shanghai in collaboration with Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, with academic support from Jean-Luc Monterosso and special support by the Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Shanghai.
The exhibition systematically traces Salgado鈥檚 photographic work cross nearly half-century, including seminal series such as Genesis, Workers, Migrations, Sahel, The Scent of a Dream, and Other Americas. These works collectively unveil the human condition, natural epics, and societal transformations captured through his lens. Widely recognized for the aesthetic rigor and ethical urgency of his work, Salgado's images transcend conventional documentary photography, offering a visual language that merges journalistic inquiry with a profound humanist perspective - creating timeless works of both social significance and artistic mastery.
As one of the most influential documentary photographers of the contemporary era, Salgado's photographs operate not only as historical documents but as interventions within cultural and political discourse. From the famines and wars of 1970s Africa to laborers in the tide of global industrialization, from rural Latin American cultures to the untouched wonders of Genesis, his work documents the human condition, global inequalities, and the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world through incisive insight and a distinctive aesthetic. His lens gave visibility to the invisible, the marginalized, and the endangered - all are rendered visible with clarity and monumental beauty, challenging audiences to confront the social, environmental, and ethical urgencies of our time.
To deepen audiences鈥� understanding and engagement, Fotografiska Shanghai will augment the exhibition with immersive sensory elements, such as environmental sound effects and scent installations. During the exhibition, Fotografiska Shanghai will also host a series of activities such as themed talks, workshops, and cultural events, inviting audiences to reflect on themes like ecological preservation and social justice.
As the first institutional tribute of this scale after his death, the exhibition invites reflection on the enduring relevance of Salgado鈥檚 vision. In an era marked by ecological precarity, global displacement, and social fragmentation, his work continues to resonate鈥攁s both a testimony to human resilience and a call to collective responsibility. As his wife L茅lia Wanick Salgado once said: "His lens made the unseen visible, and gave voice to the voiceless."
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Fotografiska Shanghai is honored to present the first major posthumous retrospective of Sebasti茫o Salgado (1944鈥�2025) from July 18 to November 9, 2025. Organized by Fotografiska Shanghai in collaboration with Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, with academic support from Jean-Luc Monterosso and special support by the Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Shanghai.
The exhibition systematically traces Salgado鈥檚 photographic work cross nearly half-century, including seminal series such as Genesis, Workers, Migrations, Sahel, The Scent of a Dream, and Other Americas. These works collectively unveil the human condition, natural epics, and societal transformations captured through his lens. Widely recognized for the aesthetic rigor and ethical urgency of his work, Salgado's images transcend conventional documentary photography, offering a visual language that merges journalistic inquiry with a profound humanist perspective - creating timeless works of both social significance and artistic mastery.
As one of the most influential documentary photographers of the contemporary era, Salgado's photographs operate not only as historical documents but as interventions within cultural and political discourse. From the famines and wars of 1970s Africa to laborers in the tide of global industrialization, from rural Latin American cultures to the untouched wonders of Genesis, his work documents the human condition, global inequalities, and the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world through incisive insight and a distinctive aesthetic. His lens gave visibility to the invisible, the marginalized, and the endangered - all are rendered visible with clarity and monumental beauty, challenging audiences to confront the social, environmental, and ethical urgencies of our time.
To deepen audiences鈥� understanding and engagement, Fotografiska Shanghai will augment the exhibition with immersive sensory elements, such as environmental sound effects and scent installations. During the exhibition, Fotografiska Shanghai will also host a series of activities such as themed talks, workshops, and cultural events, inviting audiences to reflect on themes like ecological preservation and social justice.
As the first institutional tribute of this scale after his death, the exhibition invites reflection on the enduring relevance of Salgado鈥檚 vision. In an era marked by ecological precarity, global displacement, and social fragmentation, his work continues to resonate鈥攁s both a testimony to human resilience and a call to collective responsibility. As his wife L茅lia Wanick Salgado once said: "His lens made the unseen visible, and gave voice to the voiceless."
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