ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿

Ross Mantle

Adjunct Instructor

Bio

I am a photographer, artist, educator, editor, and designer working on editorial and commercial commissions, long-form conceptual documentary projects, teaching at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿, and as a co-owner of Sleeper, a visual direction and publishing studio.

My work often takes the form of books, exhibitions, or documentary features. I am frequently commissioned for long-form documentary work, design and architectural features, portraiture, and place-focused projects by commercial and editorial clients. I have completed commissions for Herman Miller, Knoll, Figma, Google-Design, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Monocle, Dwell, WSJ., WIRED, Rolling Stone, The Economist, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, American Express, Air Canada, MASS MoCA, Whole Foods Market, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden amongst others.

As co-founder of Sleeper Studio, I edit and design books that we publish and work with clients to consult, develop, and produce their projects. At ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ I teach courses in portraiture, narrative photography, and digital imaging.

The paradoxes, awe, and comedy found in the mundane are inspiration for my work. My curiosity in the absurd leads to quiet images that seek a balance of humor, sincerity, and critique.

My work is based in documentary traditions while actively questioning this genre’s methods and histories. I work across photographic approaches from landscape and portraiture to architecture and still life, bringing these disparate modes together through carefully sequenced images that build layered narratives.

The complex history and beautifully scarred landscape of Appalachia and the Rust Belt inform my work and my perspective. I am from this region and have chosen to make my home here, preferring to live and work amidst an area I understand deeply in order to create images that speak to the broader nature of humanity.

Ross Mantle, Untitled, 2024.