Lora Robertson is a Leica Master Photographer and filmmaker whose large scale photographic works combine technical precision with emotionally charged narratives rooted in feminism, memory, and resistance. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Robertson brings more than fifteen years of commercial advertising experience into her fine art practice, where she is known for her devotion to in camera processes, elaborate studio lighting, and carefully constructed set design. As Executive Director of Satellite Collective in New York, she also advocates for women to stand fully in their own power, often centering female voices as flawed, complex protagonists within her work.
Robertson’s practice frequently explores inherited systems of belief, power, and identity through cinematic self portraiture and immersive visual storytelling. Influenced by artists and figures such as Patti Smith, Sally Mann, Caravaggio, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Yoko Ono, her work blends theatricality with vulnerability, creating images that feel both confrontational and deeply personal. Rather than relying heavily on digital manipulation, she prioritizes technical mastery through lighting, composition, and printing processes that preserve the integrity and atmosphere of the original image.
Across photography, filmmaking, and sculptural experimentation, Robertson consistently challenges structures that have historically excluded women from positions of authority and visibility. Drawing from her experiences within the Catholic Church and male dominated creative industries, she incorporates traditionally feminine materials and aesthetics into works that examine resistance, inherited behavior, ritual, and personal agency. Her practice balances visual seduction with critical tension, transforming autobiography into broader reflections on power, gender, and cultural memory.
Currently Exhibiting in: New York, NY
Instagram: @lorarobertson
Featured Artwork at Bushwick Gallery
Title: Mother Wolf
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Photography
Dimensions: 36 × 48 in
Edition Type: Limited edition of 10
Location: New York, NY
Price: $6,000
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Description
Mother Wolf is part of Lora Robertson’s self portrait series Agony In The Scrub Pines, a body of work examining faith, femininity, inherited ritual, and personal resistance. Inspired by the discovery of family heirloom lace originally intended to mark Catholic sacraments, Robertson reconstructs the visual language of confession and religious ceremony through a feminist lens. The resulting image becomes both theatrical and deeply autobiographical, confronting systems of silence, expectation, and exclusion.
Created using a highly controlled in camera process, the photograph was captured with a Hasselblad H series camera and printed on aluminum using a dye sublimation heat transfer technique calibrated specifically to Robertson’s custom color profile system. The meticulous relationship between camera, software, and print allows the image to retain an extraordinary level of tonal and atmospheric precision, merging the traditions of darkroom photography with contemporary digital technology.
In Mother Wolf, Robertson transforms personal history into a broader meditation on power, gender, and survival. The image exists between confession and confrontation, beauty and resistance, offering a portrait of womanhood shaped not by obedience, but by reclamation and self authorship.
Exhibition Information
Exhibition Title: Botanic Bodies
Theme: Organic elegance, natural forms, and expansive growth
Exhibition Dates: May 14 – May 21, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 14 / 6 PM – 8 PM
Private Showings and Events: Invite only throughout the week