Karen Goetzinger

Artist Statement:

Through my paintings I aim to capture those overlooked modest moments of beauty, revealed unexpectedly perhaps in the imperfect and the fleeting, but that nevertheless illuminate our humanity and our longing to connect with each other.

Each blank canvas or reclaimed piece of paper allows me to expressively explore the energy and exuberance of colour and marks as a way to record, without literal references, the thoughts, impressions, and memories of a singular day or place in time. I begin with spontaneous layers of mixed media such as acrylic, ink, graphite, oil pastels, but after those first few freeing marks that break the surface of the canvas and give direction to the painting, each stroke and line is thought through and intentional.

The abstract imagery allows viewers to interact and connect with each piece in solitary exploration of the surface. It gives them the opportunity to shift their thoughts from the daily barrage of negativity, discontent, and rants now so common in our lives, to appreciating the beauty in each day waiting to be discovered and to find value and contentment in what may at first seem inconsequential but is in fact essential to the human experience.

Education:

Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design with an emphasis in Fine Arts - Mount Mary University, Milwaukee WI

Continuing education - Years of hands-on studio work.

Awards & Distinctions:

Canada Council for the Arts, 2017
Ontario Arts Council exhibition grant, 2016, 2019
ARTicipate Endowment Fund project grant, 2012, 2015, 2019

Exhibitions:

Solo Exhibits
2020 - Beauty in the Inconsequential - Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario (January)
2016 - Vanishing Point: New Work - LaLande + Doyle Exhibition Space, Ottawa, Ontario (April 6-25)
2015 - A State of Transparency - LaFab Galerie d’art, Chelsea, Quebec (October 8- November 8)
2012 - A State of Transparency - Trinity Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (July 26-August 22)
2012 - Vanishing Point - The Dooryard Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, (May 5 - 31)
2011 - Featured Artist - Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont (June)
2010 - VivaCity - Snapdragon Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (March 21-April 11)
2008 - City of Dreams - Gloucester Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (Dec. 4-Jan.13, 2009)
2008 - Blink Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (August 7-11)
2007 - Nocturne - Centrepointe Theatre Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (Aug. 31-Oct. 3)

Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 - Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portnuef, Deschambault, Quebec (June 17 - October 1)
2017 - EDGE - Alice B. Sabatini Gallery, Topeka, Kansas USA (August 22 - October 22)
2016 - Edges - Stone School Gallery, Portage du Fort, Quebec (August-September)
2016 - EDGE 6.0 - Sunderland Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska (April 24 - June 5)
2015 - International Textile Exhibition - Beijing, China (October)
2014 - World of Threads Festival - Toronto, Ontario (November)
2014 - Mindful Landscapes - Sunderland Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska (October)
2012 - Billboard Project - Atlanta, Georgia (October)
2012 - Art Takes Time Square - New York, New York (August)
2011 - Art Prize 2011 - 106 Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan (September-October)
2011-2013 - Studio Art Quilt Associates traveling show - Africa, Europe, & Australia
2011 - Single Fare: Please Swipe Again - Sloan Fine Art, New York, New York (March)
2011 - Volusia Wrapped in Fiber - Gateway Center for the Arts, Florida (February - March)
2010 - Urbane: Portrait of a City - Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Oct. - Dec.)
2010 - Agnes Jamieson Gallery - Minden, Ontario (March - May)
2010 - US Embassy Spring Invitational - Ottawa, Ontario (May)
2009 - Colourata - AOE Art Council Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, by invitation (Sept.-Nov.)
2008 - Unclothed And Uncovered - Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario (August)
2008 - I-4 Corridor: Stretching Threads Across Florida - Peabody Gallery, Daytona Beach, Florida (June)
2008 - Unclothed And Uncovered - Ontario Crafts Council Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (Jan. 3- 27)
2007 - Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, Quebec (Nov. 15-Dec. 13)
2007 - Rebooted: Life After E-Junk - John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
2006 - Surface Tension - James Howe Gallery, Kean University, New Jersey (November1-22)
2004 - Expressions - Sheraton Hotel, Nashua, New Hampshire
 

Professional/Teaching Experience:

Board of Directors, Arts Network Ottawa 2013-2019
Ottawa 2017 Arts, Culture, and Heritage Investment Program Steering Committee
Set work for Tara Luz Danse 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Instructor by invitation Fibre Art Australia, April 2015, July 2013
Instructor by invitation Fibre Arts New Zealand, April 2015
Lead Artist Community Art Project, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario October 2013-June 2014
General Program Instructor, Ottawa School of Art
Jury member - Ottawa Council for the Arts grants
Jury member - Ottawa City galleries exhibition selection process
Curator - Studio Art Quilt Associates Canada traveling exhibit “Synthesis” 2008-2010

Tags:

abstract, mixed media, modern, contemporary painting, gestural, abstract expressionism