Ralph Gibson

For over 50 years, New York–based photographer Ralph Gibson (born 1939) has cultivated a deep connection with the country of France. His latest masterpiece, Salon Littéraire, is both a culmination and a celebration of this five-decade-long love affair. Featuring a mix of color and black-and-white photos, each page reveals the country's diverse allure, from the energetic urban scenes of Paris to the peaceful countryside. Gibson, whose oeuvre is as vast as it is iconic, captures the essence of France—its monumental beauty, daily life charm and the spirit of its people. More than a photo collection, the book is a visual narrative of French culture and art de vivre. Gibson's images, ranging from architectural wonders to candid daily moments, showcase his deep admiration for the culture, buildings and people of France. With a preface by Philippe Etienne, the former French ambassador to the United States, Salon Littéraire is a visual poem and a love letter to a place—at once romantic and passionate, universal and personal.

The American photographer Ralph Gibson traveled throughout Israel and the surrounding region to create a portrait of a land where the past is vividly part of the present. He contrasts these in two-page spreads in which color and black-and-white images face one another: ancient language in a visual dialogue with contemporary human experience.

As architect Moshe Safdie writes in his accompanying text: “This is the promise and paradox of Israel, a new country in an ancient land, modernity next to regression, with abundant and creative energy and cultural output. The high-tech world of invention next to Torah studies. It is still a young country, not even yet past its Centennial. With an optimistic eye, one sees the promise yet to be.” For this project, Gibson visited many of the well-known sites of the Holy Land, including the ancient city of Petra in Jordan as well as Masada and the Sea of Galilee flowing into the River Jordan. Sacred Land is a sumptuous study in the aesthetics of time.

Ralph Gibson was born in Los Angeles in 1939. In 1956 he enlisted in the navy, where he began studying photography. Since he published his first photobook The Somnambulist in 1970, his work has been the subject of over 40 monographs. His work is widely exhibited and held in public collections around the world, such as the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He lives and works in New York.

Self-Exposure is the autobiography of celebrated American art photographer Ralph Gibson. With his 80th birthday on the horizon in January 2019 and a career spanning over 50 years, Gibson is at a point of reflection in his life and work and decided to put pen to paper.
Writing in candid prose, Gibson takes the reader through his life and career from his earliest memories of growing up in California (the son of a Hollywood director, Gibson's childhood is touched by the old glamour of the silver screen: the likes of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth make appearances) to his time in the Navy and his continuous love affair with photography.
Gibson's memories are filled with rich characters and period details. Often moving, the narratives of his at times troublesome childhood provide a rich background to the charismatic artist Gibson has become. Gibson covers a range of topics such as music, Catholicism, his wife Mary Jane and a long line of fellow artists and photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Robert Frank. His ruminations on his life so far display a deep, thoughtful understanding and self-awareness that make this book a fascinating read in itself as well as an illuminating companion to his work. What emerges is an insight into the mind of an incredible, highly decorated artist.
Evocatively illustrated, Self-Exposure presents Gibson's life story alongside his photographic work. Designed and produced in close collaboration with Gibson, this large-format publication—as much a biography as it is an artist's book—is Gibson's most personal book to date.
Ralph Gibson was born in Los Angeles in 1939. In 1956 he enlisted in the navy, where he began studying photography. His work is widely exhibited and held in public collections around the world, such as the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He lives and works in New York.