Susan Burnstine: Where Shadows Cease

 

Catherine Couturier Gallery is delighted to present the latest series of photographs by gallery artist Susan Burnstine in her third solo exhibition at the gallery entitled, Where Shadows Cease. Please join us and the artist for the opening reception on Saturday, May 18th, 2019 from 6-8pm.

Burnstine, who is currently based in Los Angeles, has spent her artistic career exploring alternative processes to the art of photography. Using twenty one self- made film cameras, Burnstine strives to create imagery completely in-camera without digital renderings. Her cameras are primarily made out of plastic, vintage camera parts, and random household objects, with single-element lenses molded from plastic and rubber. Although technically challenging, these cameras allow Burnstine to capture the distorted yet vivid images she envisions in her dreams. Today, while she is still portraying her dream-like visions using handmade film cameras, she is now introducing the element of color to her work for the very first time. 

Susan Burnstine: Where Shadows Cease will be on view from May 18th- June 22nd, 2019

 

 
Into the Headlands
Archival pigment print
edition 2 of 3
27 x 27 inches

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches
 

 

 

Archival pigment print
edition of 15
16 x 16 inches

 

For purchases or further inquiries email us at gallery@catherinecouturier.com or call at (713) 524. 5070

 

Artist Statment:

I have always dreamt in black and white. Until recently.

The rare percentage of people who have been documented to dream in black and white were either born prior to the rise of color television or had no access to it. And those exposed to color television dream in color. I’m an anomaly.

I was born the year broadcast television transformed to “living color” and witnessed monochrome programs magically transform into reds, greens, yellows and blues. I was awestruck by the implausible appearance of these vivid hues, which became imbedded in my memory as the most perplexing and fantastic canvas of my childhood. What’s more, my family owned a television business and a Zenith Chromacolor TV blazed in every room of our home. Yet still, I viewed the world in black and white.

My colorless reality was cemented at the age of four when I suffered a trauma that sparked years of severe night terrors. These debilitating nightmares dissipated in my teens, but as an adult returned following the tragic death of my mother. In attempt to cope with my loss, I replicated my unconscious monochrome visions on film using a collection of hand-made cameras and lenses that are frequently unpredictable and technically challenging. The cameras are primarily made out of plastic, vintage camera parts and random household objects and the single element lenses are molded out of plastic and rubber. Learning to overcome their extensive limitations has required me to rely on instinct and intuition – the same tools that are key when trusting in the unseen.

In the wake of unimaginable events, a mirage of “living colors” has bled into my monochrome realm. Have I surrendered to a distant truth? Escaped reality? Or both? The answer lies deep within my dreams.

 

View more work by Susan Burnstine on her Artist Page.