Outdoor Dining, Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah Possibly 1992 - 1995

This photograph, ‘Outdoor Dining, Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah’ by Richard Misrach throws down a challenge to the history of painting with its play of light and form. Imagine Misrach out there, setting up his equipment on the blinding white expanse, trying to capture the subtle shifts in light. It's almost like he's painting with light itself, layering tones to create this surreal scene. The red chairs, so neatly arranged, pop against the pale background – they feel so deliberate, so arranged, as if he has set the stage to create a play on the landscape. The salt flats themselves become a canvas, a minimalist ground that throws the mundane into high relief. It’s almost like a still life, a Morandi of the desert. He's not just documenting a place, but transforming it, inviting us to see the uncanny in the everyday. Like all the best image-makers, Misrach takes the conversation further, connecting photography to painting in a new way.