In October 1991, immediately following the catastrophic firestorm which struck the Oakland and Berkeley Hills, Richard Misrach (American, b. 1949), ventured into the fire zone with his 8 x 10-inch view camera. Misrach roamed the devastated area, recording both stark vistas and intimate details of destroyed homes. Out of respect for the victims of the fire—which killed twenty-five people, injured 150 others, and destroyed nearly three thousand homes—Misrach’s images have remained mostly unexhibited for the last twenty years. 1991 will be published on the 20th anniversary of the tragic fire, concurrent with the opening of simultaneous San Francisco Bay area exhibitions at The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and The Oakland Museum of California. —the publisher
