Ben Fraternale
New York-based creative director, filmmaker and photographer whose work engages film image-making and contemporary visual narrative.
ArtShelf
West Meets East:
Shanghai & New York 2026
上海x纽约：照面 —— 宝丽来20×24影像特展
Prelude
From Encounter to Convergence, From Arrival to Mutual Gaze.
ArtShelf is privileged to introduce the vision behind this exhibition: Our Water: Flowing from Shanghai - Intercultural Dialogues among World Cities. Guided by the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, this five-year initiative fosters cultural dialogue among the world's leading waterfront cities. Following its seasons in Paris and London, Our Water enters its third season in 2026, bringing the dialogue to New York.
Featuring the rare Polaroid 20x24 large-format instant imaging process, the exhibition explores the shared memories and connections of Shanghai and New York. It showcases 50 unique Polaroid works by three American and Chinese photographers, including 20 rare large-format 20x24 peel-apart prints and 30 instant photographs.
Hosted at The Peninsula New York, the exhibition will feature a live demonstration of the legendary 20x24 camera to capture a shared moment of global guests. These rare works will travel back to Shanghai this November for a landmark presentation.
Exhibition Dates
June 29-July 5, 2026
Venue
The Peninsula New York
700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
United States
Medium
20x24 Polaroid instant images
Visit
Request an appointment
Selected Works
Selected works from the exhibition.
Artists
Three practices connected by the 20x24 process.
John Reuter
A key figure in preserving the 20x24 Polaroid process and studio legacy, connecting the exhibition to the New York 20x24 tradition.
Lin Weijian
Photographic artist and founder of the 20x24 Polaroid Shanghai Studio, extending the medium into a Shanghai context.
The 20x24 Camera
A camera, a live apparatus, and a physical original.
The 20x24 Polaroid is both camera and live apparatus. Its prints measure about 20 x 24 inches; the camera body is approximately 25.2 x 40.9 x 59.1 inches and weighs about 240 pounds.
Each exposure requires the photographer, operating team, film, rollers, dark box and chemistry to work together. The result records not only appearance, but presence.
Next Stop
From Shanghai to New York, and back to Shanghai.
After New York, the exhibition is planned to travel to Shanghai in November 2026, during the third season of the Our Water Global City Program, at the Cultural Corridor of People's Square Station in the Shanghai Metro system. The works return to the city from which many of their subjects began, allowing Shanghai to see itself through a New York encounter.
Future Possibilities
A physical original for creation, documentation and education.
Because every 20x24 image is a physical original, the camera can serve artistic creation, museum documentation and public education at once. Facing an artwork, a historical site, an artist or a cultural worker, it records more than appearance: it records a moment of encounter.
Guide Unit
Information Office of Shanghai Municipality
Organizers
Shanghai International Culture Association
Fraternale Productions LLC
New York 20x24 Studio
Special Support
Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd.
Executive Partners
Shanghai 20 ✕ 24 Studio
ArtShelf (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
The Peninsula New York
Visit / Inquiry
Request a viewing or ask about the exhibition.
Use this form for exhibition viewing appointments, partnership inquiries, media requests, or questions about the 20x24 Polaroid works. Messages are delivered to ArtShelf.
Email: contact@art-shelf.com