Harry Gruyaert: Edges (Thames&Hudson, 2018)

The “edges” that Harry Gruyaert, a preeminent member of the Magnum photo agency, explores in this lush, full-color book are the oceans, seas, and rivers where humans meet the edge of the shoreline and the water begins. This unique volume, which opens from the bottom up, takes the reader to Israel’s Dead Sea, the Niger River in Mali, the North Sea of Iceland, South Korea, and Biarritz, as Gruyaert’s photos record the subtle chromatic vibrations of the edges of the far East and West. Gruyaert juxtaposes the hustle of the city with a pared-down, yet intense, nature. His landscapes are never empty; they are inhabited places where light, color, objects, people, and situations weave a serene, sublime scene. This beautifully produced photographic manifesto reveals the profoundly poetic character of Gruyaert’s work, and the sensual elegance of his compositions.