About the Artist

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Richard Murai earned his MFA in Fine Arts (1978) from San Francisco State University. He currently lives in Penn Valley, CA, and teaches creative photography at Yuba College.

"I have a dual interest in the fine arts and photojournalism, and was heavily influenced by the documentary photographers of the 60s." As a high school student in Berkeley during the tumultuous anti-war era, Murai says that he "seriously considered the photojournalist route" but ultimately concluded that it tended to be creatively limited", so he moved towards the fine arts.

His photographic influences "are fairly eclectic and include the relaxed, enigmatic images of August Sander, Irving Penn and Emmit Gowin; the simple landscapes of David Plowden; and profane work of Joel Peter Witkin." He goes on to say "This is probably why I enjoy teaching as I experience vicariously through the eyes, and diverse work, of my students." His current photographic work documents world sacred sites and blends his interests in ethnographic documentation, environmental portraiture and thoughtful and deliberate composition.

After over 30 years producing traditional chemical based images, Murai still uses film as his main capture medium but now relies on digital scanning and large scale dedicated grayscale digital printers for his prints. This new medium offers an incredible amount of control, stunning image quality and long-term permanence. Photographers can now truly paint with light.

In addition to on-campus teaching, Murai has conducted numerous photography workshops throughout California, New Mexico, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. His personal travels documenting world sacred sites have included China, Japan, South America, South East Asia, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.