Not Just a Barn: Don Hershman’s Powerful Solo Show Opens at Artifact Projects in New York City

California Artist Channels Human Resilience Through Rural Architecture

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- California-based painter and surgeon Don Hershman brings his boldest and most personal body of work to date to New York City this fall with I AM A BARN, a deeply evocative solo exhibition opening at Artifact Projects, 155 Suffolk Street. Opening reception Thursday, October 9th, 2025 (6:00pm – 8:00pm) and on view Wednesday through Saturday, 12:00pm–6:00pm until October 26th, the exhibit captures the quiet dignity and weatherworn strength of rural barns — transformed into monumental meditations on human resilience.

Crafted in layers of acrylic, ink, and pencil on large-scale wood panels, Hershman’s barns are more than just buildings. They are symbolic portraits — cracked, bowed, enduring — echoing the scars and strength that come with time. “Each aging plank tells a story”, Says Hershman. “These barns mirror our own human journey: tested by the elements, shaped by trials, yet still standing.”

A celebrated podiatric surgeon by trade, Hershman bridges his precision and artistry across disciplines. His previous exhibitions — including The Art of Code Switching and Donald and Victor: Under the Influence — have garnered national acclaim, and his works have been featured at venues such as the de Young Open and Sea Ranch Lodge. His distinct technique and introspective storytelling have earned praise from SF Arts Magazine and collectors across the globe.

I AM A BARN marks Hershman’s first major New York City solo show since 2023, following a dynamic 2025 season of exhibitions in San Francisco, Pleasanton, and Sonoma County. The series reflects a universal truth: that beauty and strength emerge not in spite of wear, but because of it.

About Don Hershman:
Don Hershman leads a dual life of accomplished podiatric surgeon and fine art painter. As a child, Don Hershman was profoundly influenced by his field trips to the world-class museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He fantasized about becoming an artist, drawing incessantly, creating sketchbooks, and experimenting with color well into high school. When it came time to choose a career, he felt compelled to lock in a secure path that pointed toward medicine.

During medical school and surgical residency, he continued to draw, enabling him to better conceptualize the intricate spatial relationships between anatomical structures. As with a scalpel, he began to perfect his command of the pencil and paintbrush.

Donald went on to receive his BA in premed with psychology from State University of New York at Buffalo and trained in podiatry at California college of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco before establishing his own private practice there in the early 1980s. As he was building his medical practice, Don was also evolving a body of artwork, exploring various media in the form of drawings and paintings, and finding his voice as an artist. While hosting a party in 1992, with many of his new artworks hanging in his home, Donald was invited by a guest, a curator at the Spectrum Gallery, to participate in a group show she was organizing. To his surprise, all of his pieces in that show sold, giving Donald the confidence and inspiration he needed to push on more seriously with his art.

Hershman’s work has been collected nationally and internationally. His paintings have been jury-selected for the de Young Open (2020, 2023) and exhibited in solo shows, including Donald and Victor: Under the Influence (2021) and Code Switching (2023) at Salomon Arts Gallery in New York. His I AM A BARN series, exploring resilience through aging structures, was exhibited at Radian Gallery in San Francisco and featured on the cover of San Francisco Arts Monthly magazine (2024).

In 2025, Hershman’s work was on view at 45 Fremont and One Front Street in San Francisco, and featured at Sea Ranch Lodge (Sonoma County), with solo exhibitions at Firehouse Arts Center (Pleasanton, CA), and MAG Galleries (San Francisco), with an upcoming show at Wessling Contemporary (San Francisco) in November.

For more information, please visit: www.donhershman.com
IG: @donhershman | F: donhershman.artist

Norah Lawlor
Lawlor Media Group, Inc.
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