Bio
Denise is a Hudson Valley–based mixed media artist with a BA in Psychology and Art History from The Ohio State University. Drawing on both disciplines, she creates images that elevate the ordinary by isolating subject matter and raising it to a higher level of meaning. Her work reflects a desire to make sense of an increasingly loud world, distilling clarity and resonance through visual storytelling.
Her images often carry a cinematic feel, marked by attention to atmosphere, light, and narrative framing. This sensibility transforms everyday subjects into scenes that suggest larger stories, inviting viewers to pause and consider the interplay between psychology, perception, and memory.
She has participated in several group exhibitions, and her work and continues to expand her practice, exploring new approaches to mixed media and visual storytelling. Through this evolving body of work, she seeks to highlight the extraordinary within the ordinary, offering viewers a lens through which to reimagine the familiar.
Artist Statement
My work seeks the traces of humanity, the subtle marks we leave on the landscape. I’m drawn to the ways human presence lingers through steel structures, concrete, diverted waterways, and antennas reaching skyward within the built environment. These elements exist in a delicate tension with nature, both fragile and monumental.
Working often in black and white, I remove distractions to focus on form, shadow, and contrast. This simplicity reveals the ongoing dialogue between the human-made and the natural, sometimes stark, sometimes poetic. For me, these images are a meditation on presence and absence, exploring how we imprint on the world and how it endures beyond us.
CV
Education:
1997 The Ohio State University Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with a minor in Art History, Columbus, Ohio
2002 School of Visual Arts; Photography Program New York, NY
2002 Photography Intern for the Poughkeepsie Journal Poughkeepsie, NY
2002-2008 Freelance Photographer for the Poughkeepsie Journal Poughkeepsie, NY
2006-2014 Owner of Peacock Photography Studios Wappingers Falls, NY
2008-2009 Freelance Photographer for the Southern Dutchess News, Wappingers Falls, NY
Guest Speaking:
2009 Fovea Panel Discussion: Dispatches from the Frontlines: 12 Women Photojournalists Beacon, NY
Select Exhibitions:
2025 Reframing the Constant- Hudson Beach Glass, Beacon NY
2025 Landscapes- Beacon Open Studios – Trax, Beacon, NY
2025 The Mountain- Beacon Open Studios – The Yard, Beacon, NY
2025 Inaugural Open Call Exhibition- Center for Photography Woodstock, Woodstock, NY
2025 Botanicals – A.Smith Gallery Johnson City, TX
2024 Eclipse- COMFY – The Howland Public Library, Beacon, NY
2023 Balance-COMFY Group Show - The Howland Public Library, Beacon, NY
2023 Fractured-scapes- Beacon Photography Club Group Show- Big Mouth, Beacon, NY
2023 Fractured -scapes- Newburg Open Studios Newburgh, NY
2017 Small Works- Catalyst Beacon, NY
2019 Pen & Brush Contemporary Expressions Photography Exhibition Curated by Daile Kaplan New York, NY
2009 Fovea Exhibition: Dispatches from the Frontlines: 12 Women Photojournalists Beacon, NY
2009 400 Square Contemporary Photography: Alternative Process, Beacon, NY