About The Artist
These are uncertain times. As an artist I attempt to address my own uncertainty through my art. Painting offers a pathway upon which I travel toward a semblance of truth and awareness. During the painting process, which, for me is deeply intuitive, I explore a variety of life’s questions. Some questions emerge from what is going on in my immediate environment. Others emerge from a larger perspective and extended experiential frame. Irrespective of the source of the questions I ponder, they all have in common a search for meaning.
As a life-long learner I have always been searching for deeper meaning to my own life’s experiences and of life itself. My approach to art and painting in particular has been to engage in the process explicitly and implicitly, literally and symbolically. The results can be seen in some of my works that have readily identifiable forms and objects, where others are less recognizable and tend toward the purely abstract or symbolic. All art uses symbols to represent an idea, an intention, an experience or a perspective, whether through representational or abstract genres.
Through my work, I try to show resonance and dissonance, interplay and integration, material and imaginary, as well as the uncertainty of our current culture and society; while at the same time offering a sense of hope through it all. As the viewer you may at first glance be uneasy and jarred by angular planes of saturated and contrasting colors, by unfamiliar forms and shapes, by unsettling and discordant imagery. Spend a moment longer; further examination may reveal shifting planes, contradictory light sources or the use of recognizable and unknown symbolism, all of which are used to convey a message.
While I have an intention and meaning I wish to convey in each of my paintings, I also hope that you will respond to them with your own interpretation. I welcome you to explore my paintings, not simply as decorative art, but rather as a challenge to your own beliefs and experiences.
If I can pose a question to ponder through my art, I know that I have expressed myself. I have moved through uncertainty. I have begun the process of truth-seeking. I will continue to paint as long as I search for meaning. The process of painting is my road to discovery.
Since moving to the Methow, Kirshner spends most summers outside and most winters in the studio.
His work has been exhibited and sold throughout the Pacific Northwest. His work has won numerous awards and prizes. He shares his creative energies with his poet-dramatist wife, Cindy, and their Aussie, Rio.