Third Thursday Art Night: Colleen Cannon-Karlos

About This Show

Artist Bio:

1977 BA, Photography/Art History, Stanford University

1996 MFA, Painting/Drawing/Art History, University of New Mexico

Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York City I currently reside in Columbia, SC after living in Hawaii for 20 years. Over the years I have worked in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, photography and ceramics. Conceptually my work is based on quantum physics and ancient metaphysics exploring the illusive abstract nature of reality. Inspiration for my work includes indigenous African, Native American, Asian and Polynesian art forms.

Artist Statement:

My new work consists of deconstructing recycled corrugated cardboard and transforming it into an alternative surface to create new imagery. I became interested in working with cardboard because it is cheap, ubiquitous and unfortunately very wasteful in our consumer driven, throwaway society. Mixed media includes cardboard, recycled plastic shopping bags, acetate and more. At least I can do my small part and turn discarded objects into artwork that celebrates its beauty and integrity.

The corrugated or fluted lines contain their own design aspect of regularly spaced, machine engineered parallel lines. Removing and/or adding layers by distressing and manipulating the cardboard reveals amazing texture characteristics in layers that are enhanced with the application of paint and other materials. The cardboard itself reveals levels of unique textures that give a relief quality and tangibility to the imagery. This work also reflects my interest in physics – understanding the nature of reality as energy coalesces into form. The imagery present in the distressed cardboard seems to be in the process of both emerging from and dissolving into existence. The resulting artwork is mounted on wooden panels.