NEW YORK, NY.- The International Center of Photography is the first venue in the U.S. to present the momentous exhibition Genesis, a project by world-renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado. On view from September 19, 2014, through January 11, 2015, the exhibition, curated and designed by Lélia Wanick Salgado, is the result of a multi-year survey and draws together more than 200 spectacular black-and-white photographs of wildlife, landscapes, seascapes, and indigenous peoples—raising public awareness about the pressing issues of environmental and climate change.

“Genesis is a quest for the world as it was, as it was formed, as it evolved, as it existed for millennia before modern life accelerated and began distancing us from the very essence of our being,” said Lélia Wanick Salgado. “It is testimony that our planet still harbors vast and remote regions where nature reigns in silent and pristine majesty.”

Salgado’s quest to capture nature in its original state began in 2004. During his travels across the globe, he documented arctic and desert landscapes, tropical rainforests, marine and other wildlife, and communities still living according to ancestral traditions. The exhibition is divided into five geographical regions: Sanctuaries, Planet South, Africa, Amazonia and Pantanal, and Northern Spaces. Together, the images form a stunning mosaic of nature in unspoiled grandeur. Through these photographs, Salgado pays homage to a fragile planet he believes we must all protect.

Genesis, Salgado’s third long-term series, can be viewed as a response to its predecessors Workers (1993) and Migrations (2000), which explored displaced populations and the relentless working conditions endured by men and women around the world. In Genesis, Salgado has chosen to focus on the pristine beauty of the earth and those living in harmony with it. ICP exhibited both of Salgado’s previous long-term projects, along with several smaller shows, and is pleased to again bring the work of this influential photographer to New York.

Sebastião Salgado was born on February 8, 1944, in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Initially an economist, Salgado began his photographic career in Paris in 1973. He worked with the Sygma, Gamma, and Magnum Photos agencies until 1994, when he and his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado founded Amazonas Images, dedicated exclusively to his work. He has travelled to more than 100 countries for his photographic projects, which—after being published in the press—are mainly presented in books including Autres Amériques and Sahel, l’homme en détresse (1986), La Main de l’homme (1993), Terra (1997), Exodes (2000), Les Enfants de l’Exode (2000), and Africa (2007). Travelling exhibitions of his work have been, and continue to be, presented throughout the world.

Since 1990, Sebastião and Lélia have been working to reclaim the environment of a small part of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil by giving a plot of land they owned back to nature. In 1998, they made the area into a natural reserve and created the Instituto Terra, with a mission aimed at reforestation and environmental education.

In 2012, Sebastião and Lélia were honored by UNESCO, Instituto e, and the Rio City Council for their work with Instituto Terra, and the “Personalidade Ambiental” first prize awarded by WWF Brazil. Sebastião has also been awarded many prizes and is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and honorary member of The Academy of Arts and Science in the United States.

Lélia Wanick Salgado was born in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Lélia studied architecture at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and urban planning at Paris VIII University, where she earned her bachelors and masters degrees.

She first became interested in photography in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, she worked for photography magazines Photo Revue and Longue Vue. Between 1985 and 1986, she was director of Galerie Magnum in Paris. In 1987, Lélia created her own organization for photography exhibitions and book publishing. She produced a series of books for Sebastião Salgado including Autres Amériques; the eponymous exhibition was awarded the “Prix du Public” at the Paris Month of Photography in 1986. The many exhibitions she has conceived and curated have been presented in museums and galleries all over the world. Among the books she has designed are La Main de l’Homme (1993), Terra (1997), Exodes (2000), Les Enfants de l’Exode (2000)—for which she received the Prêmio Jabuti Prize in 2001 in Brazil—and Africa (2007).

Lélia has been the director of Amazonas Images, which she founded with Sebastião, since 1994 and is also president of the Instituto Terra, which they created in 1998. For Genesis, Lélia designed the books published by TASCHEN.