Ralph Gibson is an American photographer best known for his fine-art images that explore the surreal visual nature of the subconscious. Utilizing visual fragments that resemble the way we see in dreams, Gibson’s images are mysterious and symbolic.

He was born in Hollywood, California in 1939.  His father was an assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock and as a young boy he would visit the set during filming. He was impressed by the power of the camera lens and the intensity of the lights; this set him on the path to his later work in photography.

Gibson is equally renowned for his contributions to the evolution of photographic book publication, in fact, one might say that he revolutionized it. His deep concern with how a sequence of photographs can become a new and more meaningful unit in book form was evident in his first book The Somnambulist, with its carefully developed page transitions and meaningful sequencing. 

Gibson’s role in photographic fine art image making and book publication cannot be overestimated.  In addition to publications and exhibitions, he has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts; he has been awarded the Leica Medal of Excellence and is a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.  In 2018 he was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the president of France.

SOLO SHOWS (selection)

2023 ”Secret of Light”, Deichtorhallen, Hambourg, Germany
2023 ”Secret of Light”, Kunstfoyer, Munich, Germany
2023 ”Sacred Land”, Gibson-Goeun Museum, Busan, South Korea
2023 Paris Photo, Galleria Paci
2022 Salon Littéraire, Goeun Museum, Busan, South Korea
2022 “The Black Trilogy”, Gibson-Goeun Museum, Busan, South Korea
2021“Sacred Land”, Leica Gallery, Beverly Hills, United States of America
2020 ”The Somnambulist, 50ème anniversaire”, Bigaignon, Paris, France
2020 Leica Gallery, Boston, , United States of America
2019 Photo London Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
2019 Leica Gallery Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
2019 “Digital Color”, Leica Gallery Beverly Hill, Los Angeles, United States of America
2019 “Ralph Gibson: Photographs”, Tuscon Museum of Art, Arizona, United States of America
2018 ”Vu, Imprévu”, ​Bigaignon, Paris, France
2018 “Nudes and Muses”, Leica Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
2018 Paris Photo, Galerie Paci, Paris, France
2018 Leica Gallery, Salzburg, Austria
2017 “Trilogy, 1970-1974”, Le Pavillon Populaire, Montpellier, France
2016 Palm Springs Museum of Art, California, United States of America
2016 ”Vertical Horizon”, Bigaignon, Paris, France
2016 Leica Gallery, San Francisco, United States of America

AWARDS

2023 Centenary Gold Medal from the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain
2021 Leica Hall of Fame Award
2018 Décoré Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur
2016 Photographer of the Year, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair
​2015 Guild Hall Academy of the Arts Lifetime Award
2015 American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Award
2011 FOTOmentor Lifetime Award, Palm Beach Photographic Center
2007 The Lucie Award
2002 Nommé Commandeur de L'Ordre national des Arts et des Lettres
1999 Silver Plum Design Trust for Public Space
1997 Doctor of Fine Arts, Ohio Wesleyan University
1994 Grand Medal of the City of Arles, France
1991 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, University of Maryland
1989 Eastman Kodak Grant to photography, "L'Histoire de France "
1989 "150 Years of Photography" Award, Photographic Society of Japan
1988 Leica Medal of Excellence Award
1986 Décoré Officier de l’Ordre national des Arts et des Lettres
1986 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1985 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship
1977 D.A.A.D West Berlin, Germany
1977 C.A.P.S., New York State Council of the Arts Fellowship
1975 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1973 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship