Peter Croteau

Peter Croteau was born in Boston, MA in 1988. He received his Masters of Fine Arts in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design in 2012 and his Bachelors of Science in Photography from Drexel University in 2010. Peter currently lives and works out of Providence, RI. Moving many times through various tract house suburbs as a youth gave him a further understanding of the differences and similarities in the landscape across the USA. He became most interested in the concepts of the in-between and the sublime in the landscape and how the two may intersect. He considers himself to be an explorer of mundane spaces looking to transform the everyday into something otherworldly through the use of 8×10 and 4×5 view cameras.

The Road to the Oxbow

“The Road to the Oxbow is a series of photographs that explores the mundane, roadside spaces on the way to the view of Thomas Cole’s painting of The Oxbow. It is not the direct route, but instead a metaphorical journey through layers of time with power lines acting as a guiding force through a landscape of sprawl. I construct each photograph using the tropes of the Hudson River School painters, paying attention to powerful lighting, skies and the creation of vast space. Upon arriving to the top of Mount Holyoke, I turn away from the view. Instead I photograph the parking lot on top of the mountain show how painterly representation does not match reality and the prevalence of spaces of dross in the American landscape.”

To view more of Peter’s work please visit his website.