KAREN JACOBS  
contemporary and abstract paintings
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KAREN JACOBS / KAREN CLARK JACOBS

Picture
About the Art 
 
An ongoing interest in the linear juxtaposition of remnants and patterns has led much of my work to be classified as geometric abstraction. Organized by divisions which aren't always precise and shapes which tend to stack and interlock, the work may remain totally abstract or venture into suggestions of landscape or other elements of nature.

There is, perhaps, a seed of an idea when I begin but I am quickly directed by the work, answering the needs, sorting the puzzles and discovering solutions.  I work with layers of thick and thin color, washed or scumbled over a textured surface. Traces are left by the pentimento of assorted mark makers and scrached or removed paint; lines are straight, curved or gestural, surfaces are wiped, dripped and spattered; all adding to an eventual sense of accumulation and the essence of time.

Though most paintings are acrylic/mixed media on canvas, I often venture into other media such as oil, watercolor, encaustic and ink... in addition to other painting forms such as the structural boxes I call Pylons which may be either wall hung or free standing.


About the Artist

The early years of my art education and career were pursued as possible, second to the needs of a mobile military family. A move to Washington, D.C. permitted both the time and opportunity for studies at the Maryland College of Art and Design and with outstanding local artists and teachers. My learning experience continued through both outside sources and personal exploration wherever we happened to be. 

From high detail realism to total abstraction, I've always sought my own way and allowed the work to develop independently. My preferred medium is acrylic as it allows the impulsive changes necessary to my process, but I've worked extensively in nearly all painting mediums from watercolor to oils and encaustics plus several original print processes.

My professional career has included representation in numerous galleries from Santa Fe to D.C., New York to New Orleans, Memphis and Atlanta. I've competed and won awards internationally and my work is in private and corporate collections around the world. I currently live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Selected Media 
(links in progress)
 ART RESIDENCY, FRANCE - The month of April, 2006, a remote art center of Cat'Art in Sainte Colombe sur l'Hers (department Aude in the south of France. No longer operating.
 
GEOFORM  -  A curated collection featuring artists  working with abstract geometric concepts.
   
ARTQUOTES.NET  -  ARTIST INTERVIEW  -   Jan. 2004
  
BIRMINGHAM MAGAZINE   - Featured Artist  -  October 2002   People/CANVAS

FOCUS/SANTA FE    June 2001   A magazine featuring artists in the area "Karen Jacobs paintings speak to the viewer in the manner of old walls, paving stones meandering through a ruin, and  dreams             
  --Charlotte Berney, FOCUS/SANTA FE 

THE NEW YORK TIMES    Circuits Section   April 20, 2000,
        "A Portrait of the Artist as  an Internet Marketer"


THE NEXT BIG THING - Movie Production using 24 paintings,  2000 
 "A deftly satisfying, comically coherent  sendup of the world of art."     -- Lawrence Van Gelder, NEW YORK TIMES
 
"Set amongst the spoiled and the starving in New York, The Next Big Thing pits artistic  intelligence against a pleasantly  simple love story"  -- Rachel Gordon, FILMCRITIC.COM


NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS,  No. 22 1999
​        
"A Juried Exhibition In Print" 


EXHIBITIONS BY INVITATION 1999 A series of one person shows on the internet"There is a sensual quality underlying the surfaces  of these paintings that is lush and rich but at the  same time elusive  and mysterious. Experiencing these pieces, I seem to be oscillating between  physical gratification of the visual senses and the sense of discovery and happenings on a prolonged  personal journey. "   -- Chris Ray -  Exhibition Curator 

AMERICAN ARTIST MAGAZINE, WATERCOLOR '93 Spring Issue - Featured Article: "Inspired By Nature" 

NEW ORLEANS  TIMES PICAYUNE 1991 Promotional Article for  New Orleans Museum of Art 'Art In Bloom' Exhibition  

GRAPHIC 1984  "Artist's Graphics at Bama"

Representation:

Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, LA

Selected Solo or Featured Exhibitions:

TURNING CORNERS - Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, 2013
SPRING - Renaissance Gallery, Northport, AL, March, 2012
TIME LINES -  Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, April, 2011
THEN AND NOW - Retrospective Kennedy-Douglass Center For the Arts, Florence, AL, 
2009
FEATURED ARTIST - Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA, January, 2009
BOKUSHO - Perry Nicole Gallery, Memphis, TN, May, 2007
BOKUSHO - NorDys Gallery, Birmingham, AL, February, 2007
NEW WORK - Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, May, 2005
TIMELINES -   NorDys Gallery, Birmingham, AL, February, 2005
CONTRASTING VIEWS - Meridian Museum of Art,  MS, 2004   

JUXTAPOSITIONS -  Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans,, 2003
NEW WORK -  Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA, May, 2003
NEW WORK -  Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA, June 2002
TIME AND SPACE -  Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, Oct. 2001
OF TIME AND TIMELESSNESS - Wyndy Morehead Fine Arts, New Orleans, LA, 2000
NOTATIONS -   C.R.A.I.G.. Gallery, Detroit, MI, 2000
NEW WORK -  Wyndy Morehead Fine Arts, New Orleans, LA, 1998
NEW WORK - Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1998
NEW WORK -  Patio Gallery, Inc, Covington, LA, 1994,96,97
NEW WORK -  Renaissance Gallery, Northport, AL, 1996-97
KNOT JUST GRASS- A Review of Three Series, Wm Carey College, MS, 1995
NEW WORK -  Mississippi Gulf Coast College Gallery, 1994
THREE PERSON EXHIBITION -  World Trade Center, New Orleans, LA, 1994
NEW WORK - Patio Gallery, Inc, Covington, LA, 1994
SERIGRAPHY - Livingston University Art Gallery, AL, 1985
 

Selected Group Exhibitions:

GRAND OPENING GALA - Kristin Johnson Fine Art - May, 2013

MONOTYPE 2004 -  Traveling Exhibition to selected art centers in Louisiana
NEW WORK - Waxlander Gallery, Santa Fe NM, 2002
NEW BLOOD -   Finer Things Gallery, Nashville, TN, Mar-Apr, 2002
NEW WORK -   Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, LA, Feb. 2002
NEW WORK,  Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta GA, 2000
NEW WORK -   W.A.R.D. Gallery, Harbor Springs, MI, 1999
NEW WORK -  C.R.A.I.G Gallery, Birmingham, MI, 1999
50TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION -  Mississippi Art Colony Retrospective, Lauren Rodgers Museum, MS, 1998
CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITION - Leon Loard Gallery, Montg.AL,1990-96-97-98

AMERICIAN WATERCOLOR SOCIETY-142nd Annual Knickerbocker Club,  NYC, 1994
NWS TRAVELING-US/CANADA -  National Watercolor Society, Los Angles, CA, 1994
TWO PERSON EXHIBITION - Wyndy Morehead Gallery , NOLA, 1993
WATERCOLOR USA - Springfield Museum of Art MO, 1992-93
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL -  Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, 1992-94
MASUR MUSEUM 18TH ANNUAL -  Masur Museum, Monroe, LA, 
1991 MERIDIAN BI-STATE - Meridian Museum, MS, 1989,91,94
SOUTHERN WATERCOLOR SOCIETY Exchange Exhibition,Takarzuka, Japan, 1989
SEVEN ARTISTS IN ALABAMA - JR Leigh Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL, 1986

 Selected Collections

Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama 
Huntsville Museum of Art, Alabama 
Montgomery  Museum of Fine Arts, Alabama 
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama 
Alabama Power Company, Birmingham, AL
Butler Snow Law Firm, Memphis, TN
NSA Corporation, Collierville, TN
Adams Reese Law Firm, Memphis, TN
Regions Insurance Group, Memphis, TN
Wolfchase Nissan, Memphis, TN
Paragon National Bank, Memphis, TN
Alabama Governor & Mrs. Fob James 
Winton Blount Southern Regional Collection, AL 
Guild Hardy Architects, Biloxi, MS
Sac's Fifth Avenue, Houston, TX 
Hotel Parc St. Charles, New Orleans, LA 
General Consul of Italy, New Orleans, LA
City of New Orleans Parkway & Park Commission, LA 
AmSouth Bank, Montgomery, AL 
Southeastern Conference Headquarters, Birmingham, AL 
Deposit Guaranty National Bank of Mississippi, Jackson, MS 
Trustmark Bank, Meridian, MS, McComb, MS 
Bradley, Arant Collection, Birmingham, AL 
Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, Atlanta, GA.

Experience 

• Gallery representation throughout the US. 
• Solo and Featured exhibitions in fine art galleries for over 25 years 
• Over 100 regional, national and international competitive exhibitions, awards in most.  
• International traveling exhibitions including Japan and Canada.
• Supplied 24 paintings for the movie, 'THE NEXT BIG THING' produced in NYC, 2000
• National Galleries Endowment Award - 73rd National Watercolor Society Exhibition -  
• First Place honors in the 23rd Louisiana  Watercolor Society International Exhibition
• Signature Membership in the National Watercolor Society, the Southern Watercolor Society and the Louisiana Watercolor Society.
• Twenty year member of Mississippi Art Colony; a semi-annual artist's retreat for painting and critique.
• A participant in the "Alabama Print Portfolio," included in most Alabama museum collections.
• Alabama Arts Council Grant for the Governor's Arts Awards.
• Board of Directors member for several art organizations including the Louisiana Watercolor Society,  Mississippi Art Colony and Women's Art Alliance.
• Featured artist for the PBS station WYES-TV Art Collection Twelve video promotional.
• Arts Council of New Orleans Percent for Art selection on two occasions.
• Resident Studio Artist, Kentuck Art Center, Northport, AL.
• Maryland College of Art and Design, Silver Spring, MD 1973-76
• Prince Georges Community College, Laurel, MD 1975
• Regular participation in Mississippi Art Colony, Jackson, MS 1987- continuing 
• Assistant Gallery Director, Green Garden Gallery, Montgomery, AL 1977-1980
• Extensive selected studies with outstanding teachers in the fine art field.