Natalie Christensen (born 1966 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is an American photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. She has exhibited her photographs in the U.S. and internationally, including Santa Fe, New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, London, Berlin and Barcelona.
Christensen received her BA Psychology from Western Kentucky University and her MSW Social Work from the University of Kentucky in 1991.
A licensed clinical social worker, Christensen worked as a psychotherapist for over 25 years. She was particularly influenced by the theories of depth psychologist Carl Jung.
The influence of her previous career in psychotherapy is evident in her photographs, as shadows and psychological metaphors are favored subjects. In Santa Fe, Christensen's work is inspired by commonplace architecture and streetscapes. Choosing to shoot in locations that may be viewed as uninspiring or even visually off-putting, she finds her images around shopping centers, apartment complexes and office parks. The challenge for her is to discover something transcendent hidden in plain sight. Scenes are stripped to color fields, geometry and shadow. They are an enticement to contemplate narratives that have no remarkable life yet tap into something deeply familiar to our experience evoking repressed desires and unexplained tension.
Christensen’s photography is represented in galleries in the US and UK. The Royal Photographic Society in Bristol, United Kingdom, recently presented her artwork in a traveling museum exhibition throughout the United Kingdom. [1] [2] Her work has been shown at museums and exhibition centers, including Coos Art Museum; [3] Standard Visions Billboard, Los Angeles, California; [4] High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon; [5] Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana; [6] University of New Mexico School of Architecture Gallery; [7] Peckham Levels, London; [8] Galerie Minimal, Berlin; [9] and Blipoint Festival, Barcelona, Spain. [10]
Recent publications featuring Christensen include, among others, Peripheral ARTeries, [24] Magazine43 of Hong Kong, Philippines and Germany [25] and LandEscape Art Review, [26] United Kingdom, feature article, Fall 2019. She is the cover artist for the recent Field Guide, [27] a guidebook for New Mexico arts.
Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, Colorado
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