SHAPING THE LAND

Filter Photo is pleased to present Shaping the Land, a solo exhibition of work by José Ibarra Rizo. 

Shaping the Land  is part of an ongoing series documenting the Latinx/e migrant experience in the American South. Through intimate portraits and landscapes, this body of work explores how these communities establish familiarity and stability in shifting environments—whether through work, leisure, or acts of cultivation.

This exhibition considers the evolving relationship between people and place, revealing migration as not just transition but an ongoing process of making home. Rather than offering a singular narrative, Shaping the Land invites viewers to reflect on the layered realities of migration—where histories, labor, and aspirations intersect in everyday life.

About the Artist

José Ibarra Rizo (American, born Mexico, b. 1992) is a lens-based artist living and working in Atlanta, GA. His work examines cultural memory, identity, and the migrant experience in the American South.

He was awarded the inaugural Emerging Artist Fellowship by the Atlanta Center for Photography, named a finalist for the 2022 Aperture Portfolio Prize, recognized as one of three recipients of the 2022 Atlanta Artadia Awards, and selected as a 2023–2024 Working Artist Project winner by MOCA GA.

José's work is part of the permanent collections of the High Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum. His clients include Rolling Stone, TIME Magazine, and The New York Times.