About my art

As a child, I spent much of my time with my head in a book or lost in a daydream. I loved stories, and longed to be able to tell my own. But when, eventually, I tried to write my own stories, I found myself at a loss. I couldn’t make the words say what I wanted to say. Pictures and drawings and things seemed to convey so much more for me than words on a page.

My work celebrates my fascination with things that tell rich stories. I'm drawn to old books, magazines, letters, photos, and bits of paper we might find lying on the street, or lingering in the back of a junk drawer—items that once held great meaning, but are now likely to be overlooked or thrown away without a second thought. Using a range of techniques, from collage to sewing to print making, I reconfigure and reconnect these discarded pieces into new stories that give them new life and new meaning.

Biography

Shirley Bunger was born and brought up in the Bay Area. She's a third generation Californian who spent many childhood summers in Colorado. She's the youngest of five children and grew up in a family of educators.

Shirley earned a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California at Davis and an MBA from Santa Clara University. She works as a strategy consultant, helping leaders create brave new futures for their organizations.

As an artist, she's largely self-taught. She's taken classes through The Pacific Art League, San Francisco Center for the Book, Palo Alto Art Center, Oregon College of Art and Craft, and Stanford University Continuing Studies, and workshops with a handful of prominent Bay Area artists who have helped her develop her artistic eye and voice. She currently focuses on creating mixed media works on paper, wood, and cloth.

Shirley currently lives and works in Redwood City.

Selected Exhibitions

Upcoming

More info coming soon!

Past

RESTART, juried show at Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA (Juror: Patricia Hickson, the Emily Hall Tremaine Curator of Contemporary Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum) — June 25 - August 20, 2022
Silicon Valley Open Studios, Project 275, Redwood City, CA – May 14 - 15, 2022
Stories, featuring student and personal works exploring personal journeys, part of an Artist-in Residence program, Mohr Gallery at the Community School of Music and Arts, Mountain View, CA — January - March 2022
Harvest Warehouse Pop-Up Art Show – Redwood City, CA – February 23 - March 2, 2018
Two-person show, Keller Williams, San Carlos – June, 2017
Public Alchemy II, Cubberley Art Studios, Palo Alto, CA – February 25 - March 18, 2017
Reclaimed: Elevating the Art of Reuse, juried show sponsored by SCRAP at the Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA – October 1 - 22, 2016 (Jury: Deborah Munk - Manager, Recology Artist-in-Residence Program, Andres Guerrero - Andres Guerrero Gallery, Dianne Platner - SCRAP)
Connecting Points (two person show), The Main Gallery, Redwood City, CA – June 29 - July 31, 2016
Salon des Réusés, Nielsen Arts, Berkeley, CA – 2014
Member show, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA – 2000
Client/Creative invitational show, Landor Associates, San Francisco, CA – 2000