GIBSON, Ralph

Ralph Gibson (1939) is an American photographer mostly known for his photographic books. Gibson currently lives and works in New York. He studied photography during the US Navy years and then at the San Francisco Art Institute.

He began his career as assistant of Dorothea Lange (1960-1962) and as a camera operator with Robert Frank (1967-1969) in New York. After his short cooperation with Magnum agency, Gibson opened his own studio and his publishing house called Lustrum that by now has produced more than 40 monographs. In the '70s he created his new artistic research that lead to some important publications such as "The Somnambulist" (1970) and "Déjà-vu" (1973), where the black-white images are displaced in sequences and match surrealistic themes. Ralph focuses usually on fragments and details and this process handle more with perception than with the narration of a great history.

His photographs are included in over 150 museum collections from all over the world and have been exhibited in several shows. He worked exclusively with the same Leica for over 50 years.

"I realized that I wanted to use photography as a medium to monumentalize all the shapes and the fragments less meaningful".

Untitled, from the series “Somnambulist”, 1968, gelatin silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, from the series “Chiaroscuro”, 1982, silver print, cm 20.5 x 31 ca.
Untitled, from “The Somnambulist”, 1969, gelatin silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, from the series “In situ”, 1987, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, from the series “Infanta”, 1981, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, 1970, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, 1970, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, 1970, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, 1973, from the series “Déjà-vu”, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
White Nude, 1974, silver print, cm 30.8 x 20.6 ca
Sheila in the car, from the series Somnambulist, 1970, gelatin silver print, cm 31.7 x 22.5 ca.
Untitled, dalla serie Somnambulist, 1969, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Mary Hellen, Hand, 1969, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, from the series Quadrants, 1975, gelatin silver print, cm 20.6 x 31.1 ca.
Baby’s hand and guitar, dalla serie San Francisco, 1960-61, silver print, cm 12 x 18.7 ca.
Untitled (Leda), dalla serie Days at Sea, 1974, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, dalla serie In situ, 1987, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled (dyptich), dalla serie Somnambulist, 1983, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, dalla serie Infanta, 1980, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, dalla serie Infanta, 2012, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.
Untitled, 1977, cm 21 x 14 ca.
Chiaroscuro, 1985, silver print, cm 31.5x21 ca.
Untitled, dalla serie Infanta, 1988, silver print, cm 31.5 x 21 ca.

GIBSON, Ralph

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