A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

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Karen Azarnia

Assistant Professor, Adjunct

Contact

Bio

Education: BFA, Rhode Island School of Design. MFA, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago 2008. Exhibitions: Visual Arts Gallery, Governors State University, University Park, IL; Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL; TSA Chicago, IL; Riverside Arts Center, Riverside IL; Young Space, Brooklyn, NY; Terrain, Oak Park, IL; Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL; Abryant Gallery, Chicago, IL; Union League Club, Chicago, IL; Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE; Highland Park Art Center, Highland Park, IL. Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL Bibliography: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Hyperallergic, The Huffington Post, Newcity Art, Chicago Woman Magazine, Comp Magazine.

Personal Statement

Karen Azarnia is a painter, educator, and independent curator. Born in Miami, FL, she currently lives and works in Chicago. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Azarnia explores time through the lens of memory, home, and natural life cycles. Inspired by an archive of personal photographs, videos, and drawings, the canvas surfaces are poured, wiped, scraped and layered. At once embracing and pushing against art historical tradition, the work operates in the slippage between abstraction and representation, focusing on the play between description of form and gesture of mark. Evoking a dream-like quality, they are a reminder of the basic human emotions that connect us all, and the fluidity of human perception.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

We speak through our bodies, and learn to read other's even before we use words. The figure runs through every culture's art. Even when we work purely abstractly, the figure lurks at the edges and dictates nearly every reference point. This studio aims to teach students how the body communicates, and facilitate its effective use in their work. Primarily a studio course, we will use images from art history, contemporary art, graphic novels, films and photography, as well as written material, as jumping-off points for long drawings in a variety of media. We will also go on a series of field trips to discuss how to read body language, and discuss its evolution through animal communication to the nuances of human interchange. This is an advanced studio.

Class Number

1886

Credits

3

Description

Simply put, this class is about exploring possibilities-- the use of various combinations of materials used, wet and/or dry, on any paper related products, from fine drawing sheets to left over cardboard, as long as the what and how of it is on/with a paper support...the individual pursuit for a personal visual voice is encouraged...during the first several weeks, various 'problems' will be given to start things moving?

Class Number

1854

Credits

3

Description

This course investigates painting materials, application, color, form, and ideas through contemporary and traditional methodologies. Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students can explore various creative strategies through a skill-based curriculum as well as individual projects. This course serves as a requirement and preparation for topic-based Painting Studio Multi-Level B classes.

Class Number

1905

Credits

3

Description

This course is designed for students who want to engage the human figure as subject while learning/reinforcing the fundamentals of painting. By observing the model in space, students will investigate form, color, composition and the properties of paint. Humans have been depicting humans with paint for tens of thousands of years. The human figure continues to be a vital subject in contemporary art. The work done in this class exists in this broad context. This is a multi-level class. Painting perceptually (from life) is challenging at all levels. Painting a human being from life further deepens and expands this challenge. The artwork referenced may range from prehistoric to contemporary. This course has many sections; the exact focus of each class will depend on the teacher, and so the work shown will vary from class to class. Work will likely be seen via lectures in class and/or visits to the museum. Other material, such as readings, will also vary. Expect to paint the figure from life in class. Other in-class activities will vary. Outside assignments will vary.

Class Number

1964

Credits

3