The International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York is presenting "Edward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration," a retrospective of over 70 photographs by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, on view until September 28. Curated by ICP creative director David Campany, the exhibition spans Burtynsky's 40-year career documenting humanity's industrial transformation of natural landscapes, from Ontario mines and Texas oilfields to shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh and e-waste sites in China. The show is organized thematically rather than chronologically, featuring early small-scale works alongside massive recent prints, including a 10-foot-wide image of a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a 30-foot mural of a Texas farm printed on adhesive vinyl.
The retrospective matters because it consolidates Burtynsky's legacy as one of the most important photographers of the Anthropocene, using monumental scale to make visible the often-invisible infrastructure of global consumption. The exhibition is part of a broader Burtynsky moment in New York, with related documentary screenings at the Metrograph cinema and a solo show at Howard Greenberg Gallery, underscoring his sustained influence on environmental photography and public discourse about industrial impact on the planet.