A black and white headshot of Paul rider against a light backdrop
Faculty

Adjunct Professor

Photography (BFA)

Paul Rider is an adjunct professor at UArts and an artist and educator who has been working for the past 30+ years. It is a continuous learning experience. Every day is filled with new wonders, from meeting new people and visiting new places, which keeps the world vibrant and intriguing.

Biography

Paul Rider is a Philadelphia-based artist who earned his BFA in Photography from Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), and his MFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia.

Working in discrete series, Rider creates his imagery by constructing still life in the studio utilizing found objects and  through the use of abstract and documentary photographic styles. One compelling theme that has driven his work is the interface and struggle between nature and manmade urban culture.

In 2008–2010, he was a fellow of the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. Rider was also one of the founding members of the Philadelphia-based photographic cooperative Level 3, for which he also served as exhibition curator/coordinator. He has taught photography at the university level since 2003.

Rider’s photographs have been exhibited in Europe and throughout the U.S. in museums, university, and commercial galleries, and various visual art centers. In 2021 Rider was a finalist in Fresh 2021 Fresh Annual Photography Exhibit at Klompching Gallery, New York City.

Experience

Rider is 

  • A fine art photographer exhibiting nationally and internationally;

  • A founding member and exhibition curator of Level 3 Gallery, Philadelphia; and 

  • A commercial photographer who freelances and shoots for corporations and companies such as Strawbridge & Clothier, The Franklin Mint, the ShadowLight Group, and TC Studios; and  

  • An educator in higher education since 2003.

Website

Visit Paul Rider’s website. 

Follow Rider on Instagram: paul_rider_studio.

Awards & Accolades

Rider was a Center for Emerging Visual Artists fellow (Philadelphia, 2008–2010).

A black and white and blurry image of hands in the foreground with the subject's head bowed in the background
Paul Rider, “Self”
A black and white abstract photo of plastic
Paul Rider, “Forever”