--- description: Fine-Art photographer Gregory Crewdson explores solitude in the woodlands of his hometown title: Discover Gregory Crewdson's New Surreal Photographs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214433955e2aa5a7/698877a13c163914fd45b6b5/crewd-2014-woman-at-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Discover Gregory Crewdson's New Surreal Photographs by [Rachel Lowry](/author/rachel-lowry/) ## Rachel Lowry Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 9:00 AM CUT  Woman at Sink, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Woman at Sink, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery by [Rachel Lowry](/author/rachel-lowry/) ## Rachel Lowry Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 9:00 AM CUT In 2011, fine-art photographer Gregory Crewdson left New York to live in a solitary church in the Berkshires. Coping with a difficult divorce, he found renewal in daily open-water swims and cross-country skiing on the wooded paths of the Appalachian Trail. There, he stumbled upon a trail called Cathedral of the Pines_,_ which inspired new images. “It was an aesthetic awakening,” Crewdson tells TIME. “The trail name and the location at that moment sparked the inspiration for an entire body of work.” The 31-image series is on display at [Gagosian Gallery](http://www.gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson "undefined") in New York. Ultimately titled _Cathedral of the Pines,_ the cinematic leitmotifs are quintessential Crewdson. Forest clearings, anonymous townscapes and nondescript interiors become elaborately staged, suspenseful images that explore the recesses of the American psyche and the disquieting dramas of American daily life. In one image a couple loiters along a river, small flecks in relation to the towering pines encircling them. In a misty barn, a girl sits perched on a stool, her quizzical brow almost suggesting that she, too, is curious about the floorboards that have been pried free near her feet. “I am fundamentally interested in the uncanny, which is almost by definition like trying to find an unexpected mystery in everyday life,” says Crewdson. “It’s important to me that the setting for my pictures feels familiar. The settings, the props, the costumes, the subjects, they are supposed to feel ordinary, but then I use light and color and mood and atmosphere to charge it in some way.” In his 20 years of production, Crewdson’s images, many of which sell for more than $100,000, have garnered an international following. Each series — _Twilight, Dream House_ and _Beneath the Roses_ — recalls not only 19th century American and European paintings, but also suggest a cinematic quality that was influenced by his love of vintage films. _Cathedral of the Pines_ _,_ however, transcends to a darker psychological place, exploring themes of isolation and longing. “It was important to me that the pictures have a kind of quiet, still sensibility,” Crewdson says. “To me, they are less cinematic and more painterly, in terms of the approach, but it is definitely still psychological, with very little going on in terms of the literal narrative or storyline.” His movie-like productions have seen months of advance planning, with Crewdson verifying the placement of each tiny detail, from a wet sponge left on a countertop to a crumpled fleece blanket discarded beside a couch. Shot with large-format cameras, filming requires more than 40 crew members familiar with motion-picture-film equipment and techniques. But Crewdson says _Cathedral of the Pines_ presented new challenges. “We worked in total isolation,” he says. “We had a small crew that worked on all three productions, dealing with unpredictable weather and extreme cold.” **_Gregory Crewdson_**_’s_ Cathedral of the Pines _is on display from Jan. 28 to March 5 at_ [_Gagosian Gallery_](https://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/gregory-crewdson--january-28-2016 "undefined") _in New York. The show’s opening reception will be Thursday, Jan. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m._ [**_Rachel Lowry_**](http://www.rachellowry.com/ "undefined") _is a writer and contributor for TIME LightBox. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @rachelllowry._  Woman at Sink, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  The Motel, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  The Haircut, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  The Basement, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  The Drainpipe, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  The Barn, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2013 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery  Father and Son, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2013 Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166380/discover-gregory-crewdsons-new-surreal-photographs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166380/discover-gregory-crewdsons-new-surreal-photographs/"},"headline":"Discover Gregory Crewdson's New Surreal Photographs","datePublished":"2016-01-11T09:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:40:00.689Z","description":"Fine-Art photographer Gregory Crewdson explores solitude in the woodlands of his childhood","url":"https://time.com/4166380/discover-gregory-crewdsons-new-surreal-photographs/","keywords":["LightBox","New York","photography","Massachusetts","gallery","On Our Radar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214433955e2aa5a7/698877a13c163914fd45b6b5/crewd-2014-woman-at-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel Lowry","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-lowry/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214433955e2aa5a7/698877a13c163914fd45b6b5/crewd-2014-woman-at-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CREWD 2014.Woman at Sink","caption":"Woman at Sink, Cathedral of the Pines Series, 2014","creditText":"Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4166380/discover-gregory-crewdsons-new-surreal-photographs/","name":"Discover Gregory Crewdson's New Surreal Photographs"}}]}] ```