Thomas Joshua Cooper: Refuge

Thomas Joshua Cooper, one of the most celebrated and distinctive landscape photographers working today, explores the Eastern United States with a special focus on the East End of Long Island and the Hudson River.

Throughout his career, Thomas Joshua Cooper has focused on the landscape through the lens of historical and cultural geography and cartography. Working exclusively outdoors with an 1898 AGFA field camera, Cooper has established a unique aesthetic and philosophy. This collection features twenty images that Cooper made on the East End of Long Island and Shelter Island in 2016, juxtaposed with earlier works depicting sites along the Hudson River, Cape Cod, and Maine. Each photograph is accompanied by texts that provide eloquent historical and geographic context. A special section on Cooper’s unique and painstaking artistic process offers readers an understanding of how Cooper researches, experiences, and captures the essence of the locations he photographs.

By Terrie Sultan