 Karen
Denise Parker Karen Parker was born and raised in the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Her family consisted of farmers; people who worked with and lived on the land; people who understood the seasons and cycles of birth and death. Under this influence and with an inborn curiosity about the process of things, she grew up intrigued with the workings of the natural world. At an early age she began to draw: people, animals, everyday scenes. At school, science and biology fascinated her. She wanted to know HOW THINGS WORKED. This drove her mother to distraction as she would come home to find the lawnmower, the clock or some other household item dismantled. When it came to a career choice there was never any competition. As an artist, she could explore the why and wherefore, the minutia of the natural world and record them with heartbreaking precision. She received her BFA from UNC- Greensboro and her MFA from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Her art is found in collections, literally, around the world; the most recent sales going to Hong Kong. Her work has won numerous awards and in 1998 the North Carolina Arts Council granted her full funding for her installation work. She is talented, charming, funny and speaks with a refreshing honesty about life. Look at her paintings, her art, and then just imagine the beauty of how her mind works. Alpha Yin Marc Pachter, director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington and author of The Making of an American Icon: George Washington and Gilbert Stuart, said “(Karen’s work) …deserves recognition.”  Top of page Tom Patterson, author of Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Stranger from Another World reviews her portraiture, calling them “ … stunning pieces.”  study of a Tulip Bulb Tom
Patterson also says Karen’s paintings are
“…outstanding images, meticulously
rendered.” He calls them “…gems amid the
(visual) jumble.”
 Top of page Writer Mai Li Munoz
says, “Her nearly microscopic representations detail the
delicacy of nature’s
inhabitants.”
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Full Vita HERE Selected
Exhibitions: One
Person: 2005 One Person
Show, Depot
Gallery, Mooresville, NC 2004 One Person
Show, Barr
Gallery, Abingdon, VA 2004 All The
Pretty,
Waterworks Visual Art Center, Salisbury, NC 2003 Misc.
Lrg., Elysium
Studios,Winston-Salem, NC 1999 One Person
Show,
Glenville State College, Glenville, WV 1997 One Person
Show, Rye
Art Gallery, Rye, England UK 1997 One
Person Show,
Elkland Art Center, Todd, NC 1996 New
Paintings, Heike
Pickette Gallery, Lexington KY Juried Competitive Shows:
2007 Realism,
Richeson
Gallery, Kimberly WI. Juried
international competition 2007 Southeastern Juried Competition, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile AL. Juried national competition 2005 Through
Womens Eyes,
By Womens Hands,Chapel Hill, NC 2005 Face
Value, Milton Rhodes
Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC. Juried national portrait competition. 2005 Uplands:
Landscape
Interpretations, Waterworks Visual Art Center, Salisbury NC, Juried
regional competition 2005 Waterworks
Regional
Exhibition, Waterworks Visual Art Center, Salisbury NC, Juried regional
competition 2005
Dimensions, Milton
Rhodes Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC. Honorable
Mention, Juried national
competition 2004
Artoberfest, Depot
Gallery, Mooresville, NC, Juried regional exhibition. Grand Prize 2003 2nd Int.
Ashes to Art
Exhibition, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA. Juried international
exhibition 2002 Sacred Art
from the
Heart, Lloyd Art Center, Fort Collins, CO. Juried international
exhibition 2002 MonDak
Heritage Center
26th Annual, MonDak Heritage Center, Sidney, MT. Juried international
exhibition. Awarded Honorable Mention. 2002 Annual
Int. Miniature
Competition Seaside
Gallery, Nags Head, NC.
Juried international exhibition 2002 Spare
Parts, Full
Circle Gallery, Hickory, NC. Juried national exhibition. First Place. 2001 Regional
Exhibition,
Waterworks Gallery, Salisbury, NC. Juried regional exhibition. 1999 From these
Hills,
William King Regional Arts Center, Abingdon, VA. Juried regional
exhibition 1996 Images and
Objects of
Summer, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ, Juried national exhibition 1994 Realism,
Parkersburg
Art Center, Parkersburg WV, Juried national exhibition 1992 11th
Annual Henley SE
Spectrum, Milton Rhodes Gallery, Winston -Salem, NC, Juried regional
exhibition Group: 2005 Art As
Food,
King-Shivell Gallery, Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, NC 2003 Scout,
Group Show
exploring Boy Scout Merit Badge Projects. Glenville State College,
Glenville,
WV 2003 Spring
Show, Louise
Gilbert Gallery, Mitchell College, Statesville, NC 2003 New River
Works, Group
Show of works from EAC New River Parade at Lees-McRae, Banner Elk, NC 2002 Waterworks
Invitational, Waterworks Gallery, Salisbury, NC 2002 10th
Annual
Int.Miniature Competition Parklane
Gallery, Kirkland, WA.
Juried international 2002
Parker/McGervey,
Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, NC 2001 Come
Closer, Salem
College Art Gallery. Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC 2001 Sense of
Place 01, Associated
Artist Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC 1999 Third
Annual Sacred
Arts Festival, Bloomfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA 1998 Fantasy
Architecture/Fantastical Spaces, Iredell County Arts Council,
Statesville, NC 1997 Fur, Paws
& Claws,
Gallery 9, Foscoe, NC. Portion of profits to benefit Watauga Humane
Society 1996 Parker/
McGervey,
Claypool-Young Gallery, Morehead, KY 1996 Visions of
Venus,
Contrappasto Gallery, Cleveland, OH 1994 Prague Art
Exchange
and Exhibition, Prague, Czech-Republic 1992 E.I.O.
Seasonal
Invitational, E.I.O. Gallery, Cleveland, OH Site
Specific
Installation --"The Last Summer Tomato" Published in Voices Anthology Asheboro, NC. 2003 --"Iris Haiku" Published in Voices Anthology Powell, OH. 2002 --Guest Lecturer at The Unbroken Circle: MENSA Women's quarterly meeting: "Shamanism's function in society from prehistory into the current era." --Portfolio Review: by artist Philip Koch. 2002 "Poppies" Published in Harmonies: Women reflect on Nature's Rhythms Lafayette, IN. 2002 "Ode to the Vernal Equinox" Published in Harmonies: Women reflect on Nature's Rhythms Lafayette, IN. 2002 --Guest Lecturer at Lees-McRae College: Spirituality and Art Course: "Magic and Ritual: Alchemy and the Artistic process." 2001 --Art Director: Morality and Gadgets a short independent film by Terry O'Brien and Walt McGervey, Talking Dog Productions. Based on a performance piece by Steve Gall. 2001-2002 --Portfolio Review: by artist Philip Pearlstein. 2001 --"Signs and Wonders (found)" Published in Her Mark 2002 Calendar, Chicago, IL Juried international competition 2001 --Costume design and performance for Elkland Art Center's Pageant in Todd NC and 4th of July Parade in Blowing Rock, NC. June 2nd and July 7th respectively in 2001 --Producing illustrations for a book on aboriginal healing techniques: Shamanic Healing through Extraction for Dr. Martin Nettleship, Ph.D. ongoing --Guest Lecturer at Lees-McRae College: Art Appreciation Class: "Ways to Understand Art" and Women's Literature Class: "Feminist Themes and Content in Art". 2001 --Portfolio Review: by artist William Bailey 2000 --"Some thoughts on domestication…." Published in Campbell University's Lyricist, Buies Creek, NC. Juried national competition. 2000 --"Why should the laws of chaos…." Published in Campbell University's Lyricist, Buies Creek, NC. Juried national competition. 1999 --Guest Lecturer at Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC. 1999 --Guest Lecturer at University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY: "Does Making Art Matter?". 1996 |