Pace presents an exhibition of recent photographs of Richard Misrach in his New York gallery. On view until March 1, 2025, this is the first presentation dedicated to CARGOa body of work Misrach began in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the last week of the exhibition, preview copies of CARGO (Aperture, May 2025) will be available at the gallery.
Misrach is known for his poignant, large-scale color images that address social, political and environmental issues while examining the history of photography. In her radiant and contemplative works, Misrach, who lives in California, often examines the destructive impact of human interaction with the natural world. His works have examined human-caused fires and floods, nuclear test sites, and animal burial pits in the American West; the petrochemical corridor in Louisiana; the landscape of the border between the United States and Mexico; as well as more lyrical subjects like San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge and his recent series of hydrofoil surfers in Hawaii.
Referencing the Golden Gate Bridge series, which the artist created from his porch over four years starting in 1997, CARGO focuses on the light, water and climate of the San Francisco Bay. He began creating this body of work in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic and the lockdowns that accompanied it. Taken at different times of day from a single location in San Francisco, these photographs demonstrate his enduring interest in witnessing the world around him from a singular vantage point over months or years.
In a statement, Misrach describes this series as a meditation and celebration of the San Francisco Bay Area setting. With these works, he also reflects on the design, function and history of the ships in the bay, as well as all the thousands of workers involved in the images.
-“Behind these ships is a remarkable, if invisible, international workforce that builds them, inhabits them, loads and unloads them, maneuvers them on oceans and canals, sometimes in dangerous situations, until their final destination,” writes Misrach. “In addition to the extraordinary success and value these cargo ships symbolize, they also represent the complex and challenging side of our crucial and interdependent international trade. In this historic moment, they allude to the threat posed by global warming. »
Richard Misrach : CARGO
from January 17 to March 1, 2025
Pace Gallery
540 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
www.pacegallery.com
