Richard Misrach

One of the most celebrated photographers of his generation, Richard Misrach is best known for his large-scale colour images that explore the relationship between humans and the environment. Born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California, Misrach emerged as a significant figure in contemporary landscape photography, particularly for his role in advancing the use of colour photography in the fine art world.

Through his lens, Misrach has framed the deserts of the American West and worked on projects that spotlight the impact of human intervention on natural landscapes, from urbanisation, industrialisation, tourism, to floods, fires and military installations.

Misrach’s photographs often evoke a haunting beauty, capturing moments of tranquillity while also addressing underlying ecological concerns. Misrach’s use of large-format cameras allows him to capture immense detail; he has led the way in pioneering the renaissance of colour photography and large-scale presentation in the 1970s.

Over the course of the 1990s, a period when the base of his critical acclaim broadened steadily, Misrach released numerous influential photobooks, including Bravo 20: The Bombing of the American West (1990), Violent Legacies (1992), Crimes and Splendors: The Desert Cantos of Richard Misrach (1996), which contains 18 images from his well-known, ongoing series, ‘Desert Cantos’, The Sky Book (2000). During this time, the photographer began working in Louisiana on a project he called Cancer Alley, documenting the industrial pollution along the Mississippi River. This project was eventually published by Aperture as an award-winning book titled Petrochemical America (2012).

Misrach’s work has been widely exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world. His photographs are also included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.