Nick Pedersen

Nick Pedersen received his BFA in Photography from the University of Utah, and his MFA in Digital Arts from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Pedersen’s work combines his own photography, digital collage, and printmaking techniques to create elaborate, photorealistic images focusing on environmental issues. A main theme in his work is “beautiful decay,” creating large-scale pieces that reveal a satirically, post-apocalyptic vision of the not-too-distant future. From climate change and more extreme weather events to loss of habitat, biodiversity, and species extinctions, our planet is quickly approaching a strange and unpredictable time. In response, Pedersen’s artwork plays off of older forms of beauty in art making, referencing sublime landscape paintings, animal studies and still lifes, fanciful wallpaper, and textiles. His images appropriate these picturesque styles and idealized nature imagery to create elaborate juxtapositions with subversive elements from modern civilization. His projects focus on concepts like the reclamation of nature and rewilding the modern world, creating a contemplative series of narrative imagery and art installations that question the legacy modern humanity will be handing down to future generations.

Pedersen’s artwork has been shown in galleries across the country and internationally, including the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Paradigm Gallery, Antler Gallery, and the Griffin Museum of Photography. He has published two artist books featuring his long-term personal projects Sumeru and Ultima, and his work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Create Magazine, Juxtapoz, and Hi-Fructose. Many of his images have been recognized with awards from the International Photography Awards, the Fine Art Photography Awards, the Adobe Design Achievement Awards, and the Photoshop Guru Award. As an educator he teaches workshops on photomontage and digital collage, and has lectured at Pratt Institute, NYU Polytechnic Institute, Moore College of Art and Design, and the University of Utah. Pedersen has also completed artist residencies at the Banff Center in Canada, the Gullkistan Creative Residency in Iceland, the Santa Fe Photography Workshops, and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art to work on his environmental projects