Eric T. Kunsman (b. 1975) was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While in high school, he was heavily influenced by the death of the steel industry and its place in American history. Exposure to Walker Evans's work during this time hooked Eric onto photography. Eric had the privilege of studying under Lou Draper, who became Eric’s most formative mentor. He credits Lou with influencing his approach as an educator, photographer, and contributing human being.
He is a photographer and book artist based in Rochester, New York. Eric works at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as an Assistant Professor in the Visual Communications Studies Department at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and is an adjunct professor for the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences. He also owns Booksmart Studio, a fine art digital printing studio that specializes in numerous techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis. Eric also serves as a board member for CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
Eric holds his MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds an MS in Electronic Publishing/Graphic Arts Media, BS in Biomedical Photography, BFA in Fine Art photography, all from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. In addition to lectures, he offers workshops on topics such as his artistic practice, digital printing, and digital workflow processes. He previously provided industry seminars for the highly regarded Printing Applications Lab at RIT prior to its closure. His photographs and books are exhibited internationally and are in several collections. He currently owns Booksmart Studio, a fine art digital printing studio specializing in various techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis.
Eric is a recipient of the 2025 CENTER Santa Fe’s Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025 Center for Photographic Art Grant Recipient- Juror’s Choice, and 2024 JGS Fellowship for Photography Recipient from The New York Foundation for the Arts. His work has been exhibited in over 40 solo exhibitions at notable venues, including the Nicolaysen Art Museum, Hoyt Institute of Fine Art, and Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, as well as numerous university galleries. His work has also been a part of over 150 group exhibitions over the past four years, including exhibitions at the Center for Photography, A. Smith Gallery, SPIVA, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Spartanburg Museum of Art, Atlanta Photography Group, CEPA Gallery, Site: Brooklyn, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, and many more.
He was a 2022 nominee for Prix Pictet- Humans; named one of 10 B&W photographers to watch of 2018 by BWGallerist; B&W Best Photographers of the Year 2019 by Dodho Magazine; won the Association of Photography (UK) Gold Award for Open Series in 2019; Finalist, Top 200 Critical Mass 2019, 2020, 2021; Top 15 Photographers for the Rust Belt Biennial; and LensCulture’s New Visions Award 2025, Critics' Choice 2022 and B&W Jurors’ Pick 2021. His Project Felicific Calculus was also awarded a Warhol Foundation Grant through CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
Eric’s work has also been published in publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek, LensWork, Dodho, Harpers, The Washington Post, All About Photo, Loupe Magazine, Analog Explorations, B&W Photography, Analog Explorations, All About Photo, Black+White Photography (UK), and Dek Unu. He has also been featured in online articles by All About Photo, AARP, F-Stop Magazine, Analog Forever Magazine, Catalyst: Interview, Texas Photo Society, and others.
There's no “given” formula for what demands Eric’s focus as a photographer. Eric is as drawn to the landscapes and neglected towns of the American Southwest as he is to the tensions of struggling Rust Belt cities in the U.S. Northeast. Eric is drawn to objects left behind, especially those that hint at a unique human narrative —a story waiting to be told. Eric’s current work explores one of those relics: working payphones hidden in plain sight throughout the neighborhood near his studio in Rochester, NY. Associates suggested they signified a high-crime area. This project's shown Eric something very different.
