Kirk Crippens is a San Francisco Bay Area photographer whose long-form projects trace the social and environmental forces shaping American places, from economic shock and civic memory to forest poaching and community resilience.
His photographs are held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Oakland Museum of California. Signature series such as Foreclosure, USA, Portraitlandia, and Live Burls, a collaboration with Gretchen LeMaistre made with an 8×10 view camera, demonstrate his deep engagement with his subjects.
Crippens' work has been featured prominently in exhibitions such as Crystal Bridges Museum’s State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now, which included a dedicated presentation of his Foreclosure, USA series in 2022-23. His portraiture was selected for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and he has mounted solo exhibitions at venues including Stanford University and SFO Museum.
A dedicated bookmaker, he has published three monographs with Schilt Publishing: Live Burls (2017), Going South - Big Sur (2019), and So Long (2021). His artist books are also held in the special collections of institutions like Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Crippens is represented by Schilt Gallery in Amsterdam.
Kirk Crippens — Curriculum Vitae
San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville, California)
(415) 345-1356 • www.kirkcrippens.com • kirk@kirkcrippens.com
Representation: Schilt Gallery, Amsterdam
Education
2025–Present — San Francisco State University, Studio Art — San Francisco, California
2022–2025 — City College of San Francisco, A.S. Degree, 2025 — San Francisco, California
1994–1995 — University of Texas at Arlington, Photography — Arlington, Texas
1989–1992 — University of Texas at Austin, Photography — Austin, Texas
Collections (Public & Institutional)
Oakland Museum of California, Foreclosure, USA portfolio — Oakland, California
Smithsonian Institution, Live Burls print — Washington, D.C.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Foreclosure, USA portfolio — Bentonville, Arkansas
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Hidden Population print; Live Burls prints — Houston, Texas
Southeast Museum of Photography, Going South – Big Sur print — Daytona, Florida
Cleveland Institute of Art, Artist Books — Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Museum of Art Library, Live Burls (book) — Cleveland, Ohio
Datz Museum of Art, Live Burls prints — Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Musée de la Photographie, Artist Books — Belgium
Candela Gallery Collection, Portraitlandia print — Richmond, Virginia
Newspace Center for Photography Collection, Portraitlandia print — Portland, Oregon
RayKo Photo Center Collection, Portraitlandia prints; Live Burls prints — San Francisco, California
Humboldt State University, Special Collections Library, Live Burls (book) — Arcata, California
Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Artist Books — New Haven, Connecticut
Monographs
So Long — Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam, October 2021
Going South – Big Sur — Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam, 2019
Live Burls — Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam, 2017
Solo Exhibitions
2026 — RayKo Former Photo Center & Pretty Gritty Gallery, New Cartographies — San Francisco, California
2022–2023 — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Foreclosure, USA — Bentonville, Arkansas
2018 — Schilt Gallery, Live Burls — Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018 — SFO Museum, Live Burls — San Francisco, California
2017–2018 — Stanford University, California Plates: Documentary Photographs by Kirk Crippens (Retrospective). Curator: DeWitt Cheng — Palo Alto, California
2015 — Pingyao International Photography Festival, Portraitlandia. Curator: John B. Turner — Pingyao, China
2014–2015 — San Francisco City Hall, The Point: A Collaboration with the Bayview–Hunters Point Community. Curator: Kevin Chen — San Francisco, California
2014 — RayKo Gallery, The Point. Curator: Ann Jastrab — San Francisco, California
2014 — Sanjiangyuan International Photography Festival, Bank Rupture. Curator: Guo Jing — Qinghai, China
2013 — Shijiazhuang Art Museum, The Great Recession. Curator: Kirsten Rian — Shijiazhuang, China
2012 — Pingyao International Photography Festival, Foreclosure, USA. Curator: Guo Jing — Pingyao, China
2012 — Orange Coast College, Hidden Population. Curator: Richard Kraft — Costa Mesa, California
2011 — Lishui Photo Festival, The Great Recession. Curator: Kirsten Rian — Lishui, China
2011 — Heart Gallery, Dreams and Prophecies: Dealership Wreck and Judgment Day. Curator: Marisa McCarthy — San Francisco, California
2011 — Reynolds Gallery, University of the Pacific, Foreclosure, USA. Curator: Jennifer Little — Stockton, California
2010 — Jackson Street Gallery, University High School, Foreclosure, USA. Curator: Gale Jesi — San Francisco, California
2010 — SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Foreclosure, USA. Curator: Renée de Cossio — San Francisco, California
2010 — RayKo Gallery, Foreclosure, USA. Curator: Ann Jastrab — San Francisco, California
2009 — Fotovision, Treasure Island. Curators: Ken & Melanie Light — Berkeley, California
Group Exhibitions (Selected)
2026 — FotoFest, Live Burls — Houston, Texas
2026 — The Book of Ezio, When The Moment Presents Itself. Curators: Danny Sanchez, Niniane Kelley & Brian Brooks — San Francisco, California
2026 — Center for Photographic Art, Dealership Wreck. Curator: Rebecca Senf — Carmel, California
2026 — Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, Act One: A Century in the Making (So Long; Foreclosure, USA; Dealership Wreck). Curator: Marc Asnin — Oakland Gardens, New York
2025 — San Francisco State University Fine Arts Gallery, 38th Stillwell Exhibition (Going South – Big Sur) — San Francisco, California
2020–2021 — de Young Museum, On the Edge (Going South – Big Sur) — San Francisco, California
2020 — Photo España, Best Photography Book Award Exhibition (Going South – Big Sur) — Madrid, Spain
2020 — Center for Photographic Art, CPA 8×10 (Going South – Big Sur) — Carmel, California
2019 — Southeast Museum of Photography, Going South – Big Sur — Daytona, Florida
2018 — FotoFest, Discoveries of FotoFest (Live Burls) — Houston, Texas
2017 — Frist Museum, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now (Foreclosure, USA). Curators: Don Bacigalupi & Chad Alligood — Nashville, Tennessee
2017 — Horizons Zingst, Live Burls. Curator: Manfred Zollner — Zingst, Germany
2017 — Mint Museum, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now (Foreclosure, USA). Curators: Don Bacigalupi & Chad Alligood — Charlotte, North Carolina
2017 — RayKo Gallery, Summer Show (Portraitlandia). Curator: Ann Jastrab — San Francisco, California
2016–2017 — Datz Museum, From Walden: Live Burls. Curator: Sangyon Joo — South Korea
2016 — Dixon Gallery and Gardens, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now (Foreclosure, USA). Curators: Don Bacigalupi & Chad Alligood — Memphis, Tennessee
2016 — Telfair Museums, Jepson Center, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now (Foreclosure, USA). Curators: Don Bacigalupi & Chad Alligood — Savannah, Georgia
2016 — Minneapolis Institute of Art, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now (Foreclosure, USA). Curators: Don Bacigalupi & Chad Alligood — Minneapolis, Minnesota
2016 — Candela Gallery, UnBound5 (Live Burls) — Richmond, Virginia
2016 — Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize (Portraitlandia) — Edinburgh, Scotland
2016 — The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize (Portraitlandia) — Stoke-on-Trent, England
2015–2016 — National Portrait Gallery, Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize (Portraitlandia) — London, England
2015 — Lishui International Photography Festival, Portraitlandia. Curator: Laura Valenti — Lishui, China
2015 — Emeryville Art Exhibition, The Point — Emeryville, California
2015 — Yixian International Photography Festival, The Point. Curator: Guo Jing — Yixian, China
(Your remaining entries continue in identical format and should remain consistent.)
Honors & Awards
2020 — Finalist, Best Photography Book Award, Photo España (Going South – Big Sur) — Madrid, Spain
2018 — FotoFest, Discoveries of FotoFest — Houston, Texas
2015–2016 — National Portrait Gallery, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize — London, England
2015 — Photolucida Critical Mass, Finalist — Portland, Oregon
2015 — Pingyao International Photography Festival, Honored Guest Artist — Pingyao, China
2015 — Lishui International Photography Festival, Honored Guest Artist — Lishui, China
2015 — Open Show (RayKo Photo Center), Best of 2014, Access Award (Portraitlandia) — San Francisco, California
2014 — Pro Arts, Nominated 2×2 Solos Program — Oakland, California
2014 — Phoenix Art Museum, INFOCUS, Juried Exhibition — Phoenix, Arizona
2013 — National Portrait Gallery, Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize — London, England
2013 — Center for Fine Art Photography, Center Forward Award — Colorado
2013 — Newspace Center for Photography, Artist-in-Residence — Portland, Oregon
2013 — Photolucida, Top 50 (Critical Mass) — Portland, Oregon
2013 — Pro Arts, Nominated 2×2 Solos Program — Oakland, California
2012 — Pingyao International Photography Festival, Honored Guest Artist — Pingyao, China
2012 — Gift of, Purchase Award — Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
2012 — RayKo Photo Center, Artist-in-Residence — San Francisco, California
2012 — Pro Arts, Nominated 2×2 Solos Program — Oakland, California
2011 — Photolucida Critical Mass, Book Award Finalist & Top 50 — Portland, Oregon
2011 — Photography Book Now, Fine Art Category, Finalist (×4) — San Francisco, California
2011 — Lishui International Photography Festival, Honored Guest Artist — Lishui, China
2011 — Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, Book Award — Identities Now: Contemporary Portrait Photography
2011 — ArtSlant, Juried Showcase Winner; Finalist for ArtSlant Prize 2011; 25th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Yellow Ribbon
2010 — Fleishhacker Foundation, Nominated Eureka Fellowship Awards 2011–2013 — Bay Area, California
2010 — Photolucida Critical Mass, Top 50 — Portland, Oregon
2010 — Blue Earth Prize for Best Project Photography — Portland, Oregon
2010 — 24th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Best of Show — Emeryville, California
2010 — Photography Book Now, Portfolio Category, Honorable Mention — San Francisco, California
2010 — ArtSlant, Juried Showcase Winner; Exhibition Award, Aqua Art Miami — Miami, Florida
