DETAILS:
30" X 24"
Oils on Canvas
Original Art Work
2018
Description:
In the large-scale painting of FEM, Sarrow links the abuse of women and the feminine with corporate and government abuse of the earth’s environment. The central image of the feminine as a mountain is something she waited to represent in a large scale. The land is portrayed as an expectant mother, exploited and suppressed but, as with the feminine, will ultimately not be overcome by suppression. Themes of human vulnerability permeate the FEM series of paintings, to emphasize that the life of the body is a physical reminder that we only have one earth to protect.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Karen Sarrow (b.1969 Coventry, England) immigrated to the United States as a young child with her family in 1973. Living in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons, the artist has been widely exhibited in the USA and abroad. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Truman State University in Missouri (1991), and a Master of Arts degree from Ohio State University, where she studied American, Contemporary, and Medieval art history (1994). Sarrow earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the Pratt Institute graduate program in New York (2003). She has continuing education in Graphic Design from OTIS, and illustration from the Pasadena Art Center. While her environmental activism, canvases, and Styrofoam media remain primary occupations, she complements these endeavors curating exhibitions of contemporary art. Along with her husband, Jonathan, Karen founded artHYPE Gallery and serves as director and curator. Her mission includes supporting and exhibiting emerging artists who make meaningful, committed work, grounded in humanism.
ART STATEMENT:
"I pursue the following objectives: connection and transcendence. The systems I use are intuitive, experimental, statistical, scientific and pattern sensing. I have a tendency to create natural forms. My program is color, my style is realism. I portray human bonding, understanding, and equality without violence. I am influenced by the people’s history, philosophies of justice, and the history of art."
My work consists of three styles, pop with outlines and flat color, Styrofoam installations with light and paint, and naturalistic portraits. I include portraits of people from different backgrounds, who represent my friends and family. I am an intuitive artist, and I like creating new forms, often based on dreams. I’m interested in humanism and environmental progress. I like the subjectivity of portraits and the illustration and science of green technologies. I work with oils, acrylics, and enamel, canvas, wood, Styrofoam and LED lights. I keep learning.
