Please note: this exhibition was at Hudson Park Library in November 2022. Please enjoy this online exhibition.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Since an early age, I have been filled with wanderlust. I grew up near JFK airport. When we went to pick my parents up from a trip, people were arriving from other countries who looked and dressed differently. I was curious to learn about them. Where are they from? What do they eat? What are their customs? My travels began when I was fifteen, and I went to Europe for the first time to study art. I was hooked and have continued to travel the world. I soon developed a reputation for having my own United Nations. For me, communication and connection are important. If we could understand each other, we could create bonds, not wars.
THE WORLD I SEE is an exhibit that includes images from three recent foreign trips: Colombia, Iceland, and France. The photos of France were shot during the winter in Dordogne, the south of France. I was captivated by the old stone buildings and the landscapes. I love capturing images when the sun sets or rises as it casts its golden light. When I was in Iceland at the end of September, the weather was cold, windy, and rainy. As I stood shooting, the wind was strong as the rain came down. There was magic in it all: the churches and Icelandic horses. Colombia was filled with color but the images selected include a man mopping the tile floor of a hotel and nuns being photographed in the square in Bogota.
I love to connect with people through their eyes. The series of portraits are moments I made those connections. And then there are selfies. Discovering a bird perched on a rock by the ocean as the sun rises behind it, I position myself, so we are all in the frame.
I never know when I will see a beautiful moment that could be fleeting, so I grab it and memorize it forever. The sun moves as it reflects on the textured wall, a person walking into the light, or a shadow cast, creating an unusual pattern on the pavement.
As an artist who creates in several mediums, I constantly observe life. I invite my viewer and audience to experience the world as I see it, feel what I feel, and find their personal connection. My mission through my work, whether in photography, film, or prose, is to take people on my journey and bring knowledge and joy.
BIO
Gayle Kirschenbaum is a creator who expresses herself in many forms. She began life as a visual artist, drawing and painting. She got her first camera at seventeen and spent hours shooting in her darkroom. She found herself photographing a series of images that she hand-painted impressionistic. Her desire to use words and sound led to moving images. She became an Emmy award-winning filmmaker whose films and programs have premiered on Netflix, HBO, and Discovery. They include Look At Us Now, Mother!, A Dog’s Life: A Dogamentary, and Judgement Day. Her last film led to an invitation to give a TEDx talk called No More Drama with Mama about forgiveness. She speaks and teaches on this topic all over, including at Omega Institute.
Gayle found herself returning to her first love, photography. Her photographs have been shown in the US and abroad, including in group shows and solo exhibitions. Her last solo show was MY NEW YORK in the West Village which closed on 9/2022. Her previous solo show STILL MOMENTS was at Westbeth. Her photos have been exhibited at ICP (International Center of Photography) and Carter Burden Gallery and featured in Duluth Art Institute, Daily Photograph, and Las Laguna Art Gallery. In Barcelona, her work has been at the Foto Biennale and Pollux Awards, where she received an honorable mention.
She has been featured widely in the media, including The New York Times, NBC’s Today Show, and Washington Post. She is a member of the Women’s Media Group, American Photographers Archive Group (APAG), Producers Guild of America (PGA), and a judge for the Emmys and PGA Awards.
To learn more, please visit GayleKirschenbaum.com and IG @glkirschenbaum
The physical exhibition is on view from November 1 - 30, 2022
The opening reception is on Saturday, November 5, at 1 PM
Join us for the Walkthrough on Thursday, November 10, at 5 PM, where Gayle will take you through her show, explaining where, why, and how she took the photos.
Copyright © Gayle Kirschenbaum 2022
