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Thursday, July 29, 2010

August Haight st art walk! "LOVELY LADIES" New work by KAREN THOMAS

This month is another show stopper, Karen Thomas will be showing at the Haight st Art walk, at Pure Beauty Salon upstairs. Her work is funny, beautiful and thought provoking, she uses many mediums from printmaking to paint and drawing, much of her work is mixed media. I will not try to convey her message as she has a lovely artist statement I will include here, and her resume also. The show details are:

KAREN THOMAS, Friday August 6th
Pure Beauty Salon on Haight st.
1560 Haight st at Clayton st. Upper Haight
6-8pm
Wine and snacks included! It's a package deal!


Karen Thomas

ARTIST STATEMENT: My work explores a “nuveau-grotesque”. I am interested in creating images that explore eroticism in a overt/subtle way. My work is an examination of mythology, feminism, erotica, and my family. I use photographs and my imagination to depict grotesque characters in a slightly erotic manner. A common element in my current work is about the cultural and mythological significance of the language of hair. I have been researching hair as an aspect of femininity, otherness, and as a symbol of man’s connection to wild animals. The implications of a hair determine intelligence, sexual prowess, femininity and masculinity. These prints and drawings focus on the duality of woman and beast. By pushing standards of beauty to an extreme I illustrate the fine line between what is considered beautiful and what is considered monstrous. A recurring character in my work is the She-Beast who has a body covered in hair, which represents the pull between desirability and the grotesque. She-Beast is based on the Germanic myth of Woodwoses who were hyper sexual and animalistic which was symbolized in the artwork by their body being covered in hair.


Karens CV

Education: BFA, Visual Arts Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2006MFA, Printmaking, San Francisco Art Institute, 2008.

Solo Exhibitions: Go Be A Beast, Cowboys and Angels Salon, San Francisco, CA, 2007;Drawings, Paintings, and Prints: New Works by Karen Thomas, Flood Gallery, University of Texas at Austin, 2005;Selected Group Exhibitions: Today, Misssion Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA, 2010;Dirty Jokes, Indie Industries, San Francisco, CA, 2009;Group Show, Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2009;Art-a-Thon: ArtSeed Instructors and Students, ArtSeed, San Francisco, CA, 2009;Erotic Art Show, The Kinsey Institute Gallery, Bloomington, IN, 2009;In Dreams, Pen and Brush Gallery, New York, NY, 2009;Negotiations, Clara Street Projects, San Francisco, CA, 2008;Fast Track, The Lobot Gallery, Oakland, CA, 2008;Vernissage, Herbst Pavilion Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA, 2008;Composing Biology, Swell Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, 2008;Token Woman Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, 2007;Los Angeles Printmaking Society 19th National Exhibition, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA 2007;Making An Impression, Swell Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, 2007;Continuing MFA Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, 2007;Evolution, Swell Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA 2007; SFAI Now, Red Ink Studios, San Francisco, CA, 2007;What You See Galore, The Lobot Gallery, Oakland, CA 2007; Dirty Candy bar, Swell Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, CA 2007;Terror? An international interdisciplinary project, Intersection for the Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2006;One Night Exhibition, Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2006;Senior Studio Show, Creative Research Lab at Flatbed Press, Austin, TX, 2006;Artists and Future Art Teachers, Creative Research Lab at the Flatbed Press, Austin, TX 2005;School of Fine Arts Exhibition, Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX, 2005;300lbs Per Square Inch: Advanced Intaglio Show, University of Texas at Austin, 2005;Intermediate and Advanced Intaglio Exhibition, University of Texas at Austin, 2004;Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards Exhibition, Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington D.C. 2002; Publications: San Francisco Art Institute Graduate Exhibition Catalogue 2008, Cover art and articles in Dirty Candybar Zine, Volumes 1-4, Dirty Candybar Art Collective 2007, Los Angeles Printmaking Society 19th National Exhibition Catalogue

Another noteable art show the same night in the east bay is at " Johansson Projects" 2300 Telegraoh Ave, Oakland 94612
5-8pm, ERIK PARRA a solo show see http://www.johanssonprojects.com/
Erik is an awesome artist and curator, he also teaches art around the bay area. I met him at 111 Minna Sketch tuesdays. If you are in the east bay please see his show if you can't make it out to Haight st.