Charles Birnbaum is both a sculptor and self-taught photographer who graduated from Kansas City Art Institute, where he studied ceramics under Ken Ferguson, one of the most influential ceramic artists and teachers in America. Birnbaum’s early work challenged the cultural boundaries of "craft" through postmodern interpretations of ancient European and Asian ceramics. After graduate studies at Tyler School of Art, he began re-contextualizing vessels into organic forms, which led to fully abstract porcelain sculptures.

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Based in New York City, Birnbaum creates one-of-a-kind gallery and commissioned sculptures exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the U.S. and internationally. His work resides in prestigious private collections including those of Jack Lenor Larsen's Longhouse Reserve, design luminary Hilda Longinotti, Ronald Kuchta (former Director of the Everson Museum of Arts and editor of American Ceramics), The Baxter Museum in Florida, Austria's Kapfenberg Cultural Center, and Japan's Museum of Modern Ceramic Art in Mino.

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Charles began working in photography while still in high school. For nearly two decades he focused exclusively on sculpture, but the pandemic marked a profound turning point, prompting his return to photography as a means of responding to a deeply unsettled time. Within months, he was awarded 3rd Prize in Still Life in a 2020 international competition.

 

Since then, his photographic work has received significant national and international recognition, with exhibitions at the International Photography Hall of Fame, SoHo Photo Gallery, Decode Gallery, Praxis Gallery, LoosenArt (Rome), Grey Cube Gallery (Helsinki), BBA Berlin, PH21 Gallery (Budapest), and Glasgow Gallery of Photography. His work has also been recognized by the International Photography Awards and the Monochrome Awards, and featured in LensCulture and Dodho Magazine.