Richard Misrach: Cargo Ships | Pace Gallery
Richard Misrach, Cargo Ships (December 19, 2023 7:50 am), 2023 | © Richard Misrach, courtesy Pace Gallery
Written by Autumn Johnstone
Photo Editor: Prajwal Godse
Based in California, the impact of Richard Misrach’s photographs reach across the country through a politically and environmentally aware lens. His most recent exhibition CARGO at Pace Gallery, open from January 17, 2025, to March 1, 2025, is the first public presentation of this series of images and a testament to the artistic motivations that nature has to offer.
While Misrach started this series during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the hardships of the time did not get in the way of his passion for photographing the natural world. Typically, Misrach’s photographs are centered around the destructive impact of human interaction with nature itself. In the past, Misrach has explored human-caused fires and floods, nuclear test locations, and animal burial sites in the American West throughout his work. Yet, he also has a knack for capturing life’s most poignant moments from graffiti left in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the stress-inducing political climate of the 2016 presidential election.
Richard Misrach, Cargo Ships (January 18, 2024 10:18 am), 2024 | © Richard Misrach, courtesy Pace Gallery
Upon entry to the gallery, it may be difficult to tell that the photos in CARGO were all taken from a single vantage point due to the drastic changes in color, water surfaces, and cargo ship positions. However, Misrach’s ability to demonstrate how the passage of time causes a landscape to evolve is apparent. With a high depth of field, Misrach captures beautiful rendered photos of melancholic cyan skies and glass-smooth ocean waters. From miles away, the figures of the cargo ships are as sharp as ever, while the reflection of the ships’ lights on the calm waters highlight the warmth that radiates from them even as they float further and further from human contact.
Richard Misrach, Cargo Ships (November 22, 2021 6:31 am), 2021 | © Richard Misrach, courtesy Pace Gallery
Richard Misrach, Cargo Ships (January 13, 2022 5:25 pm), 2022 | © Richard Misrach, courtesy Pace Gallery
The photos in CARGO, all taken of the San Francisco Bay, draw attention to the very creators of the depicted cargo ships—specifically the way in which those creators influence international commerce and allude to the threat of global warming. Behind each ship, there are thousands of workers devoting their time and energy into their jobs while the world around them continues to change. It’s easy to gaze at the cargo ships without pondering the potential dangers they may have on our planet, but Misrach encourages viewers to take the less-scenic route and become more aware of the mark we each leave everyday on Earth. His work reminds us that art can be used in a plethora of ways, from appreciating the beauty and uniqueness of cloud shapes, to contemplating whether or not it’s worth it to burn fossil fuels on your daily commute.
Richard Misrach, Cargo Ships (December 16, 2023 9:11 am), 2023 | © Richard Misrach, courtesy Pace Gallery
From the beginning of his career in the 1970s, Misrach quickly rose to prominence after innovating large-scale format photography. This technique allowed Misrach to experiment with low-light landscape photography, and gave his photos higher resolutions. Misrach’s photography pushes the agenda of what it means to show authenticity through things we cannot control such as time and the way in which our surrounding landscape alters throughout challenging times. CARGO’s dreamlike sequences of light and water teach us how to appreciate the ordinary, where we often find ourselves enthralled by simplicity, yet also reflective on the choices humans make.
