Clergue, who is best known in America for his "Language of Sands" has been showing his work for nearly a half century, with one of his first exhibitions being at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, at the invitation of Edward Steichen, then MOMA's director.

A close and longtime friend of Picasso, Max Ernst, Jean Cocteau, Paul Eluard, and Ansel Adams, among many others, Clergue's innovative photography earned him many alliances and projects with the most interesting artists of the century. Clergue's films have been shown at Cannes, nominated for an Academy Award in the US, and won the prestigious Prix Louis Lumiere in France. His books have been translated into several languages, and he has solo exhibitions in over a dozen countries.

Clergue is the only person to have been given a Ph.D (cum laude) solely on the basis of his collection of photographs entitled Language des Sables (Language of the Sands) by the prestigious University of Provence. It is the first and only time in France that a dissertation has ever been based entirely on visual media. Clergue was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest honor, in 2003. His work is contained in major museum collections in Europe, the Americas, Japan, Australia, and Israel.

The work in this exhibit will be divided into the major bodies created by Clergue over the years, with significant images from each series. Films that Clergue either created or worked on as photographer will be played continually in the project room. These include Cocteau's masterpiece, Testament of Orpheus, the filming of which has been published as a book by Clergue. Clergue's newest work, some of which was created in Chicago, will debut in this important exhibit.