Karen Schifano
Artist Statement:
I used to be a reductive painter, but now I’ve changed my spots, so to speak. Over the last 7 or 8 years, I began to make work that has obvious and recognizable references. Instead of fighting the stories that might appear, I decided to start welcoming them in.
Both precedence – where I came from as an abstract painter – and personal influences, have spurred this developing process. Reductive work began to feel too restrictive, and subject matter and metaphor seemed to be ways of funneling in meaning beyond the non-verbal language of painting. Mortality is very much on my mind, and the pain and sorrow of the world we share, along with the sheer joy in being alive with all of our senses and histories. Stay tuned, as my work is in flux and subject to change!
Artist Biography:
Karen Schifano is a painter living and working in NYC. She received a BA in Art History from Swarthmore College, an MFA from Hunter College, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She has exhibited widely in this country, Europe, Australia and Japan. Recent exhibition venues include Conn. College, Indiana University, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, DC Moore Gallery, Deanna Evans Projects, Rick Wester Fine Arts, MoMA PS1, New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts, Alfred University, CB1 and Mono Practice Gallery.
AAA:
Member Since: 2018
Committees: Events, Communications
