Susan R. Kirshenbaum

art and life - both the cherries and the pits

PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES

I began learning photography as a child, with a darkroom at home where we processed black and white film and printed it. I learned on my father’s Leica, until eventually I got my own a good camera, which was a vintage Olympus OM1. I was 13.

I have always photographed my world, and in art school I double-majored in photography to learn lighting and studio techniques too. I spent a lot of time in the darkroom experimenting.

Eventually Polaroids became my friends, then video at SFAI.

But most of all I love still photography. And I travel a lot and I shoot all the time.

At the moment I have a mirrorless Sony and a Canon DSLR but these days I simply prefer my iPhone.

I loved that I figured out how to incorporate many of my images into collages. But some of them still need to stand alone. My “Barbie on the Cusp” series evolved out of an art residency at Black and White Projects at PFF. It’s been an active project since 2019. I tell my personal story, and use my Barbies as models, as a representation of the human form I always work with – she’s a bit of mock-up, a miniature, a facsimile.

A gallerist said recently, “Of course, it’s the figure!” And I am always first and foremost a figurative artist.

All of my Barbie work preceded the movie. But now, there’s an awareness of Barbie and her impact on us – like never before. Suddenly it is in high demand.

Barbie on the Cusp Series of Art , Photography, and Books

Kaleidoscopic Botanical Photo Series

Foggy Morning, a photo montage, won a juror’s award from Melissa Keesor, Director Harvey Milk Photography Center

ONGOING DIGITAL ORIGINAL COLLAGE SERIES

Current Digital Orginial Collage Series: Women and Nature

Women and Nature Series

“My art conveys our everyday humanity and, ideally, helps motivate people to embrace their humanness.”I always begin my projects with figure drawing – working from live art models.

My iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are my primary art making tools since 2016. I travel a lot and appreciate the portable nature of these materials. I also maintain a studio practice at Art Explosion since Sept 2023.

To create finished works of digital original art I build up my figure drawings, adding layers of my abstract paintings and photographs to create digital collages. This on-going series reflects my deep attachment to women and our relationship to nature.

On a larger scale, the series is about the complex connection between humans and our natural environment.

PRINTS ON PAPER AND OTHER SUBSTRATES

Scrolls & Banderas

Scrolls, Banderas, and Sheer Panels

Prints on Paper

Prints on Paper

Prints on Metal

Earlier Prints on Metal

Process: How Do I Make My Art?

Here is a selection of high-speed videos documenting my art making process. I work in Procreate on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. http://bit.ly/2kAzpvS 

Soft Sculpture

Soft Sculpture

Copyright Reminder

Please do not download for any commercial or personal printing or display. If you are interested in any of these images, please feel free to contact me directly.