The widely traveled Ralph Gibson has worked primarily through inspired photographic series — in both black-and-white and color — whose titles reflect the poetic sensibility that defines his work: The Somnambulist, Déjà-Vu, Days at Sea, and Chiaroscuro. He began his career in 1960 as an assistant to Dorothea Lange before moving to New York in 1967, where he soon came to be mentioned alongside photographers such as Larry Clark and Diane Arbus.

Although Gibson’s photographs are capable of speaking for themselves, he has always understood each image and every series as part of a larger philosophical inquiry. In the accompanying short texts, he introduces readers to the ideas and principles underlying his work. Whether photographing nudes, portraits, still lifes, or narrative scenes, Gibson — always faithful to his Leica — moves fluidly between genres, creating entirely new ways of seeing. He approaches his subjects closely and photographs them with an almost meditative stillness that only the photographic image can achieve.

Created in close collaboration with the artist, this volume is the result of more than six decades of image-making. From Gibson’s earliest photographs in San Francisco, Hollywood, and New York during the 1960s to the present day, it stands as the most comprehensive collection devoted to this highly acclaimed photographer.

DETAILS • Author: Ralph Gibson • Publisher: Taschen • Format: Hardcover