Culver City downtown. Saturday night. A sea of gallery openings, as seems to be standard these days in the area. At Kinkead Contemporary, photographer Heather Cantrell was experiencing the high of praise and accolades as she unveiled her latest exhibition, aptly entitled Mirrored Gaze – a collection of portraits that are actually a continuation of her earlier exhibition, A Study in Portraiture, that traveled to London and New York as well.
Cantrell sets up a scenario – say, a jungle theme – and then promptly works with her subject to determine what props or accoutrements are needed, be it a mask, a scarf, or an extra palm fron.

In this study, Cantrell’s also using mirrors – very Lady of Shanghai and Black Swan, btw – to duplicate her image. She even appears in the image herself when the final product is complete.

For me, it was an exercise in humility, as I had never had my photo professionally taken before, sans the token high school portrait for the yearbook. But Cantrell puts you at ease instantly with her artistic optimism and bohemian ‘tude…which is akin to ‘whatever will be will be.’ And believe me, it will ‘be’ fantastic.

Furthermore, the portraiture is very reminiscent of the paintings of the great artists Gainsborough and even Sargeant in their positioning and personality. And right now, you too can get a Heather Cantrell original. For the length of the show, Heather will be shooting people in her downtown studio. What do you get? A fabulous color 4×5 photo …for a mere $100.

Way more cool and much more beautiful than anything you’d ever imagine getting from Sears Portrait Studio and Cantrell will never ever make you say “Cheese”.

To check out Cantrell’s work or to make an appointment for a photo, go to:
Kinkead Contemporary
6029 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
T 310.838.7400