Robert Kirschbaum received his M.F.A. degree from Yale University in 1974, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Rochester and the Boston Museum School.  The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including three Fulbright awards, an Artist’s Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and a Fellowship Grant from the Memorial Foundation For Jewish Culture, he has exhibited and lectured throughout the United States and abroad.  His artwork is in permanent collections, including the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly, Albright-Knox Art Gallery), New York; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York; New Britain Museum of American Art; William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut; Yale University Art Gallery; the U.S. State Department; and the Pennell Print Collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.  His work is currently being exhibited as part of the new core exhibition at ANU -- The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In his paintings, sculpture and prints, Kirschbaum explores Judaic concepts of sacred space derived from ancient Jewish art and the Kabbalah, often fusing them with forms and colors inspired by South Asian art and craft traditions.   Accordingly, he has visited India as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, and mounted a solo exhibition of his prints at the Jerusalem Artists’ House in Israel, followed by a tour of significant archaeological sites.  Kirschbaum’s art is discussed and reproduced in several books, including, Jewish Identity in American Art (2020) and Jewish Art in America (2006), and in journals, newspapers and magazines as diverse as Ars Judaica, Tikkun magazine, the New York Times, the Deccan Herald, The Statesman (Calcutta) and SPAN magazine (New Delhi).  Writing in Tikkun, art historian Matthew Baigell said that Kirschbaum’s images, “might be considered intellectual exercises in exploring the various mystical states of mind evoked by contemplating the Temple in Jerusalem.  Kirschbaum suggests that reflecting upon the Temple and entry into it symbolizes transformation, revelation, rebirth, and, not least, hope.”

Kirschbaum has been teaching in universities for more than fifty years.  He has held full time positions at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and Montclair State University in New Jersey.  A native of New York, where he maintains a studio, Kirschbaum is currently Professor of Fine Arts at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.  At Trinity, he served as Director of Studio Arts from 1990 to 1998, and as Chair of the Department of Fine Arts from 1992 to 1995.

https://jewishartsalon.org/robert-kirschbaum/

• “Squaring the Circle:  Exploring Indian and Jewish Concepts of Sacred Space.” Speaker, as part of the Panel, The Inspiration of India in Current American Art: Contemporary Responses and Hybrid Forms, College Art Association of America, 93rd Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, 2005.         
• “Masala:  Diversity and Democracy in South Asian Art.”  William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, 2004.
• Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts:  Guest lecturer, Haas Visiting Artist Program, 2004.
• “Sacred Spaces.” Starr Gallery, Newton, Massachusetts, 2002.
• “Jerusalem Gates.” Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (solo exhibition), 2001.
• Lecture, in conjunction with the solo exhibition, “Squaring the Mount and Related Works.” Humanities Institute, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut  2000.
• “Robert Kirschbaum and Vijay Kumar:  Prints.” Jaffe-Friede & Strauss Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. “Prints.” 1998. 
• “Temple – Digital Laser Prints.” Sponsored by The United States Educational Foundation in India.  Exhibited in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore; Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Calcutta; and Fulbright House, New Delhi (solo exhibition), 1996-97.
• School of Art, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri:  Visiting Artist and Critic, 1997.
• “Art About Architecture.”  Boston Architectural Center, 1993.
  

• Fulbright Senior Scholar Award for Research in India, 1996-97 
• Faculty Research Grants.  Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, 1991
• Fulbright Summer Seminar, India, 1988
• Artists’ Fellowship. New York Foundation for the Arts, 1987
• “Artists Space/Artists Grant 1987-88, ‘89-‘90.” Artists Space, New York City, 1987-90
• 16th Academician’s Seminar in Israel. The American Jewish Committee & Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1985
• Fulbright Summer Seminar, The Netherlands, 1984
• Commencement Speaker.  Swain School of Design, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1983
• Research Grants. Montclair State University, New Jersey, 1981-90
• Research Grant. Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 1977-78