Karen Lederer was born in New York in 1986. She first received her BFA in Printmaking and Drawing at the Sam Fox School of Fine Art and Design at the Washington University in 2008, to then go for an MFA in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2012. Her style comes out from a diversity of art source and inspiration, both contemporary and traditional, to bring her printmaking background together with a delicate awareness of graphic art.
“I combine the subtle gradients of monoprinting with the gestural touch of painting”, Lederer says about her art flow. Karen usually begins her layouts out of a printed area which she will then define with paint. Her paintings portray a cryptic narrative that emerges through layers of patterns and objects, with hints of juxtaposed inspiration such as Matisse’s still-life paintings, Picasso’s ceramics together with Instagram aesthetic and contemporary print advertisements, to finally give a contradictory feeling of desire and discomfort. The anonymous body parts present in most of her visuals asserts the presence and perspective of the artist, and the close up of an Instagram image or commercial product depicts a connection with the contemporary daily routine in a contradictory combination with some other object that recalls a surreal approach.
Karen was recently a SIP Award recipient from the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Program at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. Her work has then been featured in various American publications such as New American Paintings and Studio Visit Magazine and has also already participated in some important art shows in the US. Karen now works out of her studio in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
To view more of his art practice, go here.
