John Sanderson

Born in New York City, Sanderson's earliest memories were road trips his family would take to see the steam railroads in northeastern Pennsylvania. Describing his earliest visual memories as "looking out the window and feeling fascinated by the landscapes going by..." much of his work reflects on the value of landscapes as something independent of their intended use. Having received a degree in Political Science, his work is rooted in a cultural geography framework. Sanderson was twice awarded a docent scholarship from the Center for Railroad Photography and Art. His Railroad Landscapes were the subject of a solo exhibition at the New York Transit Museum from September 2014 – April 2016. He has photographed broadly since that time, including seven months in Carbon County, Wyoming during 2017.

Sanderson's photographs are captured outdoors, where he feels most creative. His early photographs documented the industrial landscapes across his native Northeastern United States. Sanderson began to expand his photographic investigation into the broader American landscape in 2009. It was during this trip through the American Midwest when he made the pivotal photograph Steel Mill and Houses, Lackawanna, New York. This work began to the explore a counterpoint between the documentary and poetic mode within a single photograph. Sanderson began photographing the American West in 2015 and returned to Wyoming in 2017 where he spent seven months photographing the Carbon County project.

John Sanderson, Steel Mill and Houses, Lackawanna, New York (2009)