Lawrence Kushner

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"In the imagery of the ancient Kabbalists, light is imprisoned in the gross matter of the world. In effect, this means that when the artist 'gets it right,' that primal light is revealed—a small  part of the world has been freed, liberated, redeemed by the painted image!" 

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"I try not to "name" the things I see but to focus instead on portraying patterns of light. This way the images can deconstruct themselves into reflections, as if, on the surface of rippling water."

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It's me, 18x24, oil on linen

Exhibitions / Awards

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• Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, CA, group show, Baseball, 2013

• Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA, group shows, Tiny, 2013; 2015; 2016; 2017

• Isaacs Gallery, Osher-Marin Jewish Community Center, San Rafael, CA, solo show,  

          Street Light, 2013

• Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA, group shows, City Streets, September, 2014;

          August, 2017

• Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA, group show, 94109, May, 2017

• Foyer Gallery, Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, CA, solo show, 2016

• Slate Gallery, Oakland, CA at the San Ramon Valley Conference Center, 

          featured artist, Urbanism, 2017

• Isaacs Gallery, Osher-Marin Jewish Community Center, San Rafael, CA, solo show, 

          Painting the Light Fantastic, 2018

• Peninsula Art Museum, Burlingame, CA, juried group show, California Art Club, 

          Art between the Lines, 2018

• Sanctuary Gallery, St. Cyprian’s Church, San Francisco, CA, group show,

          By Your Light, 2018

• Slate Gallery, Oakland, CA at 101 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA, group show, 

          San Francisco Views, 2018

• Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, CA, juried group show, 

          Magnificent  Migrations, California Art Club, 2019

• Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA, juried group show, City by the Bay, 

          California Art Club, City by the Bay, 2019

• Cathy Baum & Associates, Menlo Park, CA, at One Post Street, San Francisco, 

          solo show, CityLights: The Urban Impressionism of Lawrence Kushner, 2019

• Harrington Gallery at the Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton, CA, juried group show, 

          Bay Area Parks, California Art Club, 2019

• Corison Gallery, Tahoe City, CA, North Tahoe Arts Plein Air Open, 

          Honorable Mention, 2019

• Juried Virtual on-line Exhibition, Our World Reimagined, California Art Club, 2020

• Juried Virtual on-line Exhibition, Welcome to California, California Art Club, 2020

• Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, Orange, CA, permanent
      collection

• California Art Club's 110th Gold Medal Exhibition, 2021

• Curated by the Sea Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA, Juried group show, Iconic California,  
       California Art Club, 2022

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Biography

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Lawrence Kushner was born in Detroit in 1943. He began painting in 2011. An ordained rabbi, Kushner has authored over a dozen books on spirituality and Kabbalah and currently serves as the Scholar-in-Residence at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco.

     Other than studying with such renowned artists as Ezra Katz, Sandy Ostrow, and Verakeet Tongpaiboon, Kushner has had no formal art eduction.

      His work has been exhibited in galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area including the Krevsky Gallery, the Studio Gallery, and Slate Gallery. In addition to regional exhibitions, Kushner's work hangs in the collection of the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University and has also been juried into the California Art Club's premiere 110th and 111th Gold Medal Exhibitions (2021, 2022) in Los Angeles. He works exclusively in oils.

      He and his wife have three married children and six grandchildren. He lives on Russian Hill in San Francisco where every evening the light is pure magic.