Stephen Shore, King Street, Hamilton, Ontario, August 9, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family, VAG 2023.11.133. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Michael and Sandy Marsh, Amarillo, Texas, September 27, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2023.11.189. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Timberline Motel, Banff, Alberta, August 20, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2023.11.165. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Stanley Marsh and John Reinhardt, Amarillo, Texas, February 15, 1975, from the Uncommon Places series, 1975 (printed 2013 - 2014), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2024.14.6. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Room 12, Harbor View Motel, Kenora, Ontario, August 15, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2025.16.25. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, King Street, Hamilton, Ontario, August 9, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family, VAG 2023.11.133. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Michael and Sandy Marsh, Amarillo, Texas, September 27, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2023.11.189. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Timberline Motel, Banff, Alberta, August 20, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2023.11.165. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Stanley Marsh and John Reinhardt, Amarillo, Texas, February 15, 1975, from the Uncommon Places series, 1975 (printed 2013 - 2014), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2024.14.6. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore, Room 12, Harbor View Motel, Kenora, Ontario, August 15, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series, 1974 (printed 2013–14), chromogenic print, 50.8 × 61.0 cm. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Chan Family. VAG 2025.16.25. Photo: © Stephen Shore. Courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Stephen Shore: Uncommon Places
Opening Reception & Speaker Series 1
Wednesday, April 1, 7 – 9 pm
Artist Talk: 7 pm
Reception: 8:15 pm
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Uncommon Places is a landmark series of photographs by American photographer Stephen Shore (b. 1947, New York, NY). Taken over the course of multiple road trips across North America between 1973 and 1981, this series played a pivotal role in establishing the importance of colour photography as a fine art form.
During his travels, Shore photographed intersections, parking lots, buildings, interiors, landscapes, objects and people, defining a photographic vernacular rooted in everyday Americana. Through Shore’s lens, such seemingly mundane subject matter becomes uncommon—framing, composition, colour, clarity and perspective work together to create a world of compelling images in which we see ordinary matter anew. Shore’s approach to the series is marked by a contemplative, attentive and detached quality, shaped by his use of a tripod-mounted, large-format camera that facilitates precision, sharpness and vivid clarity. Uncommon Places was originally published as a book in 1982.
Following a major gift from the Chan Family of eight hundred and one photographs from the series, the Gallery’s collection is one of the most comprehensive representations of this highly influential body of work held by any museum in the world. Together, these works offer insight into the development of Shore’s photographic approach, as well as the thematic strands, range of subjects and formal concerns that unfold across the series. Alongside iconic images of life on the road, this exhibition foregrounds Shore’s photographs from Canada and highlights his encounters with the people he met along the way who shaped his journeys.
This talk is co-presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery and Capture Photography Festival as part of the 2026 Capture Speaker Series and is generously supported by Claudia Beck. Capture’s 2026 Speaker Series is generously supported by The Michael and Inna O’Brian Family Foundation.
