Karen Williams

My artwork involves the way I use materials.  Simplicity and economy are the means I use to create.  My artwork reveals the fragile moment that exists between abstraction and figuration… the place where I want my paintings to be- at the border separating real and imaginary.  My passion is catching the moment that can’t be frozen in time between still and motion, time and space.

Paint is a medium with many variations and consistencies.  I am presently exploring pouring, dripping, splashing- a few of the many possibilities paint offers.  I also experiment with the infinite span of color combinations.  Though there are many ingredients, my goal is minimalism; saying much with very little expressed.


Situating my research at the moment right before abstraction is also something for which I strive. When I paint a landscape, I am as much focused on the representation of land and space, as in pure color and form.  I create pure emotion by the dance of shapes and hues on my canvas.  The result of my experimentation reveals the space between spaces, the hinge that connects moments in time, the place that one feels but never sees.

The Art institute of Chicago
Saint Mary's college Notre Dame Indiana

2013 / Gallery G, Glencoe, Il
2011-2012 / Artspace Warehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 / Eclectic Works on Paper, The Art School and Gallery G, Glencoe, IL
2010 / Art Loop Open, Chicago, IL
2010 / Cover Painting Saint Xavier magazine, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL
2009 / Four-Person Exhibit, Saint Mary’s College , Notre Dame, IN
2008 / 12 x 12, The Art Center, Highland Park, IL
1996 / Catholic Charities of Lake County Exhibit, Lake Forest, IL
1995 / Strength in Diversity II, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
1995 / Women of the Tavern Club, Chicago, IL
1994 / Exhibit, Deer Path Gallery, Lake Forest, IL
1994 / Lake Forest Art Expo, Lake Forest, IL