Canadian photographer Jeff Wall (born 1946) is one of the most famous and influential photographers in the world. He began experimenting with photography in the late 1960s, and since 1977 he has been staging his often large-format, complexly staged art photographs. He first attracted attention with The Destroyed Room (1978). Since then, he has been considered a master of his craft with his cinematic works that convey the spontaneous atmosphere of street and documentary photography. The tension between reality and fiction, social exclusion, and the quiet dignity of everyday life are recurring themes in his work. With Jeff Wall Photographs 1984–2023, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto presents the artist's first major Canadian exhibition in over 25 years. More than 50 works are on display on all three floors of the museum until March 22, 2026.
Jeff Wall has spent almost his entire life in his hometown of Vancouver. He had his first solo exhibition there in 1978 at the Nova Gallery. Since then, he has presented his work in numerous exhibitions, including four appearances at Documenta. Wall has received many awards, including the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography in 2002, considered the world's most prestigious prize for photography, the Roswitha Haftmann Prize in 2003, and the Audain Prize for the Visual Arts in 2008. Wall's work is also considered particularly influential for photographers of the Düsseldorf School of Photography, which includes Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, and Candida Höfer.
