Ralph Gibson Photo Exhibit at SF Leica Gallery: Through January 14, 2017

The Gallery at Leica Store SanFrancisco presents a photographic retrospective featuring the work of American photographer Ralph Gibson. Beginning today, the exhibition features over forty gelatin silver and color prints from Gibson's portfolio. The exhibition will feature his early San Francisco work after he picked up his first Leica rangefinder to some of his most abstract photographs of surreal scenes and the nude female form for which he is most known.

Gibson (b.1939) studied photography in the US Navy and further pursued the medium at the San Francisco Art Institute in the early 1960's. Gibson went on to assist Dorothea Lange and later, Robert Frank on two of his films, launching his professional career. Having a strong interest in books and book-making, he founded his own publishing company, Lustrum Press out of New York and went on to create his trilogy, The Somnambulist, Deja Vu, and Days at Sea which were instant hits and helped solidify his mark as a key player in 20th century photography.

Gibson's photographs are in many important museum collections and have been shown in hundreds of exhibitions across the globe. His awards include a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, Leica Medal of Excellence, Lucie Lifetime Award among many others, and in 2002 he was appointed Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France.

Five books are available for sale during the exhibition: 

Political Abstraction, 2015

Goeun Museum of Photography, Retrospective Exhibition Catalog, 2014

Passe Imparfait, 2012

Diptych, Cygnet Foundation, New York, 2011

Deus Ex Machina, Taschen, 1999