There’s something about these marble dust panels just waiting to be painted that gets me every time. Turning my guest room back into a studio after giving up painting for a year of pregnancy and the natural light beaming in the window aren’t hurting my sentiments either.
The closest thing I can relate it to for my non arty friends is drinking a morning cup of coffee on a Saturday before you start to make banana pancakes,
or not because your day is entirely up to you.
The challenge for me with this project was keeping with my fine art aesthetic, which is abstract and contemplative. Instead of nature, a stable muse in my life, my inspiration began with the color and line used in Lela Rose’s 2010 spring collection. Sketching and studying such tactile pieces lead me to contemplate structure and then measurements. As the work progressed, I kept coming back to the definition of measurement for me. I’m calling this series “Measurements of Me.” 
MODUS UNION 2010
an exclusive and unique evening of fashion and art featuring a runway show by Lela Rose
January 14, 2010, 7-10pm
The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC Online tickets available now!
www.labelsforlove.org
General Admission ticket $100
Cocktail reception and open seating for runway show
VIP tickets $250
Preferred VIP seating, Cocktail reception, VIP afterparty, Exclusive limited edition gift bag
MODUS UNION 2010 will feature:
* A dynamic and unique cocktail hour will feature an art installation for auction by 7 of DC’s notable artists, as well as a live art showcase.
*Well known fashion designer, LELA ROSE will showcase her Spring 2010 Collection in an exclusive NY style runway show!
*Celebrity hairstylist, Ted Gibson and his team will be the hairstyling team backstage providing the beautiful looks inspired by Lela’s Spring collection.
*Dior Cosmetics National Makeup artist, Jelena Marjanovic and her team will be backstage complimenting the looks inspired by Lela’s Spring Collection.
Sponsored by:
Cadillac
The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel
Lela Rose
Ted Gibson Salon
The Aba Agency
Dior Cosmetics
Featured Artists:
Lolly Amons
Roxanne Christie
Maggie O’Neill
Don Patron
Rodger Schultz
Matt Sesow
Karen Suderman
Host Committee:
Lynda Erkiletian
Sue Falk
Juleanna Glover
Cindy Jones
Deborah Kalkstein
Katherine Kennedy
Anjanette Murphy
Catherine Ommanney
Beth Singer
Nicole Siobal
Labels for Love is a 501 (c)(3) charity that stages fashionable events to raise funds for and bring awareness to women’s and children’s charities.
Each year, we choose one children’s and one women’s charity toward which we focus our efforts. Join us in our fight to change the lives of women and children in the Washington, DC region, one charity at a time.
Karen Suderman, artist statement
I continue to explore the relationship between abstract and representational languages, and investigate the complex ways those languages interact in contemporary paintings. Each painting is a resemblance of a natural object, and the stylized presentation of each object produces an image that is ultimately indefinable.
The inspiration for my art lies in our innate relationship with nature: with form in nature and with human form. I ascertain that some images feel familiar to us, and that this perception is a primal and instinctual response.
Each of my images depicts a section of something I consider “innate”: a plant, animal, person, or piece of land. During the process of painting, I concentrate on the object’s color, line, and texture.
Consider that the paintings you see, although inspired by the natural world, are removed from the nature to the extent that they exist as objects independent of those that inspired them. My painting is a resemblance of nature because it is neither the original object, nor a representation of the original object. This subjective manner in which each painting is depicted, further separates what exists on canvas from what we see of nature. Ultimately, the image can only be connected to nature through the familiarity of color, shape, and texture.
This familiarity intrigues me. It stems from our own innate relationship with the natural world, and I hope to call attention to it by presenting images that provoke it. I suggest that the color, line, and texture of each painting create an image with which the viewer will immediately identify, despite the fact that one has no way of knowing the source-object it is derived from. I hope the experience of this connection will compel the viewer to consider the underlying structure of the world around us. Why, upon close inspection, and without objective distance, might an animal resemble a plant or a skyline resemble a shoreline?
I finished my art invitation and got my press release out today!
A collection of recent works in marble dust by Juneau artist Karen Suderman. Entitled “Holding onto Juneau,” the works are atmospheric and ab-stract representations of Juneau’s myriad landscapes.
Karen Suderman, statement
Holding onto Juneau
It’s been more than a year now since my husband and I arrived in Juneau. As a constant observer of details in nature, I feel taken back by the grandeur of it all. How could I ever take it all in, or with me?
You can’t hold onto the vast landscape, keep the snow or capture the wildlife with any one view. But you can experience it all in instants. That is all it will lend you, because in its permanence it changes constantly.
One step after another, you will never see the same horizon. You can’t recreate the force of a glacier that focuses so much energy on being compact, the soft relief that winter can bring after the rain, the innate respect of things larger than yourself, or the glory in a person’s kindness here.
You can only partake in its fullness for a moment, and then hold on to who you are because of it.
This collection is who I am, holding onto Juneau.
This is the short to medium version….
I opened Artspoken Gallery and Studios in 2005 in response to losing my studio space and gallery representation because of a fire at the Guadaloupe Art Center and Vin Gallery in downtown Austin. I just needed a space to work in a cultivating environment and I knew others did too. Some of the original goals of the gallery were to provide original artwork, open art space, and professional studios for Austin artists and art lovers. In short, Artspoken Gallery and Studios evolved into a flourishing show space and artist community due to the effort and heart of many.
As many of you know, Artspoken Gallery and Studios turned into a full co-op last September. I was overwhelmed with the business side of things and starting to have less and less energy for my artwork. The resident artists including Valerie Walden and Jan Knox were excited to help out. Special thanks to resident artist, Rebecca Bennett for managing the gallery for the last year. In January, I moved to Juneau while the gallery continued to function as a professional artist collective.
Knowing that long distant gallery ownership was not in my cards, the artists in the co-op decided to keep the spirit of Artspoken Gallery alive and move into a new location. Their new name is Austin Artspace, which opens in November. I’m so excited for all of them and I hope you will all continue to support them as they strive to enhance Austin’s art scene!
For more information on Austin Artspace you can visit http://www.austinartspace.com
And yes, I will miss it… the resident artists, the displaying artists, the patrons, the landlord, the neighbors, Bob the cat, my fight with the flower bed, the beautiful light in each studio, the stir of an opening, the inviting atmosphere, the blossoms on some unknown tree in the parking lot… I even got married there. I am thankful for the opportunities the gallery provided and the replenishment and growth that took place in my life during its duration. And yes, I am relieved. Some things burn in your heart to do and some things only burn in your heart to start. In the 3 years of the gallery, I never really felt like the owner. I always felt like it was given to me just to hold for a time.
The Original Sign
One of the first 12 Buy shows
And of course, Bob the Cat
Leading up to my art opening last Friday, I was thankful for the press coverage and support of the arts in general here in Juneau. You can follow the links below for more details and to listen to my first radio interview. Jeff Brown, the radio host of A Juneau Afternoon was easy to talk to and I felt relaxed talking on air. I don’t think I used the notes on my cheat sheet.
Note to self, don’t spend so much energy on what you may or may not say in life.
The opening itself was successful. It meant a lot to me to share my recent work… post Austin work. I felt very well received by the residents of Juneau and met a lot of interesting artists. I give all Juneau artists props for existing. It really is a lot harder to get materials and to stay dry enough to work.
Capital City Weekly
Juneau Empire/ Hooligan
KTOO Radio, A Juneau Afternoon
Above
“Anew” acrylic fresco on marble dust panel
people’s choice
Karen Suderman: 