Richard Misrach: Cargo

This book is part of a series that visualizes the often-invisible flows of global trade and commerce through a serene and solemn gaze. In 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought international trade networks to a near halt, Misrach took thousands of photographs of cargo ships passing through the Port of Oakland, California.

The monumental cargo ship stands out against the vast and rich colors of the sea, sky, and atmosphere, a tiny yet resolute presence that seems frozen in time: a scene that is eerily sparse yet undeniably beautiful.

The works abstractly trace multiple histories, including the collapse and slow recovery of maritime trade routes, the conflict between humans and the natural environment in an age of climate change, and the genealogy of maritime art. Known for his "Desert Cantos," Misrach captures a cargo ship drifting in San Francisco Bay as a fixed-point observation, quietly questioning the impact of globalized commerce on society and the environment.

[Title] CARGO by Richard Misrach
[Publisher] Aperture
[Publication date]
[Number of pages] 156 pages/

64 illustrations
[Size] Approx.

387*298 mm, 1050g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] English
[Title reading] Cargo
[Author/Editor, etc.] Richard Misrach/Author
[Print] -
[ISBN]

9781597115865
[Condition] Used [5] Average (corner marks, small scratches on top and bottom, scratches on cover)
[Accessories] None
[Featured book] -
[Related Exhibitions]

January-March 2025 Pace Gallery (New York, US)

Richard Misrach (1949-)

Born in Los Angeles, USA in 1949.
He studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and began making photographs in the early 1970s. His early work, Telegraph 3 AM (1974), documented Berkeley's homeless. He then traveled to the deserts of the Southwest, where he embarked on his signature project, Desert Cantos, which explored the clash between man and nature. He has continued to question environmental and political issues, capturing nuclear testing sites, floods, wildfires, border walls, and more in large-format color.

His most recent work, "Border Cantos," documents the nearly 2,000-mile US-Mexico border. His other works include "Golden Gate," "On the Beach," and "Destroy This Memory." His major publications include "Desert Cantos," "Bravo 20," "On the Beach," and "Border Cantos."

He received the International Center of Photography (ICP) Infinity Award in 1988 and the PEN Center West Award in 1991 for "Bravo 20." He has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. He is currently based in Berkeley.

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