On view November 6 to December 31, 2022
Reception: Sunday, November 6th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
"These recent paintings are done with a variety of media, including oil, acrylic and pastel on a variety of substrates. I love color but even more a design that can stand up for itself and not weary the visual interest of the viewer. There is often a narrative figurative aspect to what I paint, and careful rendering often takes less priority than the emotional and abstract formal elements that present themselves while working.
"My visual vocabulary often anthropomorphizes nature. The eco-spirituality expressed in many of these art works is an aspect of the importance of a relationship with nature. The work expresses the point of view, so crucial right now, of seeing nature as a vast self regulating organism, the mythic Gaia.
"In my most successful work a sense of presence begins with a very private intense feeling or thought within myself. Locating the source of the emotion and visualizing it in the work can result in visual energy transferred to a complete stranger, over time and space. This aspect of art always surprises and delights me."
-Karen Allen
About the artist
Karen Allen grew up amid natural beauty in upstate New York on 87 acres of farmland. Her love of art was nurtured by that landscape and by hours spent reading and drawing. She earned her BFA in painting with the help of an art competitive scholarship from Syracuse University. Coming to the NYC area shortly afterwards. Allen worked in the creative departments of advertising and publishing agencies. She enjoys teaching and designed an art curriculum for a private school, and developed workshops at public institutions such as libraries. She has arrived at a full time art practice most recently and in 2017 she organized two exhibits in the atrium of the Jeanette J Phillips health center in Peekskill and conceived and completed a 12’ by 60’ mural there in 2019. In 2020 she was awarded a residency from Bethany Arts Community in Ossining. Her work has been included in many juried exhibitions and solo shows nationally. She maintains her studio in Verplanck, NY.