Photographer and painter Maria Passarotti graduated in 2000 with a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, NY. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in NYC, Brooklyn and Vancouver, British Columbia, and resides in dozens of private collections. She is a board member of the womens photography collective, Nymphoto. She lives and works in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Tappan, NY.

Her most recent photographs are inspired by the intersection of nature and humanity. Passarotti uncovers beauty in the most mundane of scenes. Nearly always absent of people, Passarotti's photographs evoke a haunting human presence through details such as electrical wires, roads and hints of domestic life. Having grown up in suburban Cresskill, NJ, Passarotti has always sought moments to freeze to define endless stretches of asphalt, vast parking lots and suburban backyards.

I have always been intrigued by the intersection of man and nature. Growing up in suburbia, I became aware of the imprint individuals leave on their land, nature's undeniable presence, as well as the abundance of iconic architectural elements that fill our landscape. As an artist, I've turned to the urban, suburban and rural landscapes as my subject and inspiration.

Using photography as a medium I try not to document the landscape but to create magical interpretations of everyday, mundane spaces. I look for beauty and metaphor in the combination of man-made and natural materials seeking images where these elements peacefully coexist or one aggressively dominates the other. I observe how man interacts with, experiences and manipulates nature through such themes as recreation, agriculture, ecotourism, development, energy extraction and decorative landscaping.

A tension is created by the absence of people in many of the images, since there is an undeniable human presence within each landscape often creating a staged feeling where something is about to, or has just taken place. The reoccurring subjects of trees, dwellings, roads, artificial lighting and electrical wires become symbols used to show man's presence on the Earth.