Richard Misrach  (American, 1949) 

Richard Misrach (American, b.1949) is a Contemporary photographer, born in Los Angeles, CA. He earned a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971. During the 1970s, Misrach and his work served to promote the use of color photography and large-scale prints. Earth forms are abundant in his work; Misrach not only captures serene, expansive views of landscapes and nature, but also creates politically-charged series of works that demonstrate the damaging effects on the earth and environment. During his early career, Misrach photographed the American Southwest to create an extensive series called Desert Cantos, begun in 1979. The series, which includes 18 groups of interrelated images, explores the relationship between society and nature. Misrach's photographs often feature desert fires, rock formations, seascapes, nuclear test sites, and clouds, among other motifs. Recent series include Battleground Point (1999), commissioned by the Nature Conservancy, Golden Gate (begun in 1998), a collection of photographs featuring San Francisco's iconic bridge, and On the Beach (begun in 2001). Misrach's work has been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX, the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Denver Art Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Various prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, have acquired Misrach's work for their permanent collections. Misrach has been awarded a Guggenheim fellowship and four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2002 he was presented with a Cultural Award for Lifetime Achievement from the German Society for Photography. He lives and works in Berkeley, CA.