PHOTOGRAPHY – Mitch Epstein’s work on display in Turin

The Gallerie d’Italia in Turin is presenting a major retrospective of Jewish-American photographer Mitch Epstein, open to the public until March 2. Curated by Brian Wallis of CPW – the Center for Photography at Woodstock and entitled Mitch Epstein: American Nature, the exhibition includes independent works such as Epstein’s latest photographic series, Old Growth, focused on ancient forests—part of which is being presented for the first time; the series American Power, which explores how nations and private interests exploit nature; and Property Rights, in which Epstein questions to whom the land belongs, who has the right to exploit or plunder its resources and how citizens resist the destruction of environmental resources.
In addition to these three series of photographs, the exhibition features the audiovisual installation Forest Waves accompanied by a soundtrack by musicians Mike Tamburo and Samer Ghadry, and Epstein’s short film Darius Kinsey: Clear Cut, a collection of stills by early 20th century photographer Darius Kinsey (1859-1945) showing loggers posing next to huge felled trees in the American Northwest.The projection is accompanied by music written by David Lang and performed by Maya Beiser.
Born in 1952, Mitch Epstein is a third-generation American and the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Europe. In Family Business (1999), he documented the decline of his father’s two businesses—a retail furniture store and a low-cost real estate venture. The project, which combines photographs, video, archival material, interviews, and Epstein’s own writing, earned him the 2004 Kraszna-Krausz Prize for the best photographic book of the year.”

(Foto Amos Coal Power Plant, Raymond, West Virginia 2004, Mitch Epstein)