In Karen JS Tashjian’s exhibition, she uses the fabric of Buffalo (technology, manufacturing, and agriculture) as her inspiration. She is drawn to structures and animals of utility, highlighting their beauty without the need of ornamentation. The juxtaposition between abandoned structures and large animals examines the bounds between rural and urban sensibilities in our country.
The exhibition represents her most recent work, thinking, and process. As a classically trained architect, Karen approaches her artistic work with an unparalleled precision in the un-self-conscious organization of parts, rich surfaces, space, color palette, patterns, and the use of palette knives, brushes and rollers.
Her process implies an unfurling, growth; an evolution. It suggests the act of making, actively exploring, experimenting, and pushing the limits of her work. It implies an openness to discovery. Each piece opens a new vantage point or insight to Tashjian’s unique style. Layers of paint add texture to the ongoing story, allowing it to be discovered and live once again in physical space. She immerses herself, rubbing and layering color to find the storied patina through process itself.
She often works in large scale. She is interested in space and experience. Large paintings are more experiential as they exist at a human scale and though flat, are immersive. The central focus of the work is the experience brought and felt during the process rather than the image itself.
About Karen JS Tashjian
Born in Boston, MA and raised in the greater New York City area, Karen JS Tashjian has become a woman of multiple facets. She is an accomplished artist, professor, and a licensed architect. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Design, Fine Arts and Architecture and her BARCH degree in Architecture at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She designed sets for Shakespeare in Delaware Park, D’ellArte Opera Ensemble, and the Department of Creative Arts at Siena College. Academically she served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Buffalo, School of Architecture. As an architect, Karen JS Tashjian was part of the HOLT architecture firm and more recently the owner of her own architecture firm in western New York. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous art exhibitions including the Castellani Museum, ECHO art fair, Buffalo Society of Artists shows, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, The Buffalo Arts Council, and the WNYAG Gallery.
