About the Artist

What is the hidden meaning in the subtle features of a human face? Are timeless stories told in the interactions people have with others and their surroundings? Are the things we build on the land a deeper expression of our values and culture? These are the kinds of questions that drive my photography. My photography explores who we are and how we live in a world of vast human diversity. I photograph people, place, and culture.

I was born in Chicago and live in Portland Oregon in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I have been drawn to photography since my first cheap plastic film camera with one button, no settings, and occasional light leaks. This was in the days when kids were gifted a free toy camera when their parents opened a kiddy savings account at the local savings and loan. I took many pictures (lost unfortunately) of family vacations and relatives. In college I became a more serious photographer with my 35mm film camera and my basement darkroom. Through ups and downs I stuck with photography as a passion rather than profession into the digital age. Meanwhile I completed a PhD in organizational psychology and then worked as a social scientist and project manager to improve organizations especially non-profits in education, social services, and criminal justice. My background as a psychologist translates into a strong interest in human nature and behavior The symbiotic relationship between people and their social and physical environments is a theme of  my photography.

Jim Kushman.

Juried Group Exhibitions

Oregon Society of Artists, How It Looks From Here: A Photography Showcase, October 2021, Portland, Oregon, Honorable Mention Award

PhotoPlace Gallery, Travel: Faces and Places, November 2018, Middlebury, Vermont

Blank Wall Gallery, Street Photography, January 2018, Athens, Greece

Southeast Center for Photography, Landscape, Grand or Personal, September 2017, Greenville, South Carolina

LightBox Photographic Gallery, PDX30 Best Photographers , April 2017, Astoria, Oregon

Black Box Gallery, Portraiture: Photography Now, on-line exhibitions; September 2016; August 2015, Portland, Oregon

Newspace Center for Photography, Members’ Salons; October 2015, 2014, 2013, Portland, Oregon

Concordia University, Libraries’ Art and Culture Program, Uniquely Oregon: A Visual Exploration, July 2015, Portland, Oregon

Light Box Photographic Gallery, Forty Portland Photographers, April 2014, Portland, Oregon

Black Box Gallery, Journeys: Travel Photography, December 2013, Portland, Oregon