Maxime Riché

About Maxime Riché

After studying engineering at École Centrale (France), Columbia University (USA), and the University of Cambridge (UK), Maxime Riché is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at the École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy and CY Cergy Paris University (France). He works and lives in Paris, France.

In 2020-2021, supported by a documentary photography grant from the Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), he traveled to Paradise, a Californian town ravaged by wildfire. This journey resulted in the creation of his photographic series of the same name.

Maxime Riché’s Photographic Approach

In his work, which he defines as “speculative documentary,” Maxime Riché delves into humanity's resistance to acknowledging physical and philosophical boundaries, exploring the consequences of this defiance on the habitability of our world. He uses photography and film to explore the concept of boundaries in modern societies and their refusal to meet our more or less essential demands. He is interested in our desire to produce, grow, or even achieve eternal life, while becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world.

Paradise by Maxime Riché is a photographic work that captures the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise, California, in under four hours. The fire, caused by a short circuit, claimed 86 lives and destroyed 18,800 buildings, making it the deadliest in U.S. history. Riché visited Paradise in 2020 and 2021, meeting survivors who chose to rebuild in an environment now marked by destruction. Using analog photography and infrared slide film, he poignantly conveys the emotional weight carried by the survivors, with the fiery tones of the infrared images evoking the lingering trauma of the flames. The series, blending documentary and fiction, reflects on human resilience, our disconnect from nature, and the growing consequences of disasters exacerbated by human activity.

Exhibitions, Residencies, and Art Book Publications by Maxime Riché

Maxime Riché’s work has been exhibited extensively across Europe, including at Paris Photo and unRepresented by Approche Paris in 2024, Noorderlicht Festival in 2023, and Prix Maison Blanche in 2022. In 2025, he was invited by Hangar Gallery to exhibit Paradise from March to May. He has exhibited his work at venues such as the Grand Palais (Paris, 2015), Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs (Bordeaux, 2016), and the Cui Zhenkuan Museum (Xi’an, 2016) for the first 30-year photography retrospective in China. His work is regularly published in international outlets like Forbes, GEO, Le Monde, and Wired.

In 2023-2024, Riché is the recipient of the CIP X La Capsule residency, focusing on the theme of the body and movement in rock climbing. He received the CNAP contemporary documentary grant for his work Paradise.

His work has been recognized with several prestigious accolades, including a Special Mention at the Les Nuits Photo Prize (2021), first prize at the Passepartout Photo Prize (2022), the Open Call Fotografia Europea (2022), the Maison Blanche Prize (2022), and the Dahinden Prize - Une autre empreinte (2024).

In 2024, his book Paradise was published by André Frère Editions.