Published by Highpoint Editions
ON VIEW: SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 – OCTOBER 27, 2018
Opening reception: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 6:00 - 8pm
Artist Talk: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 - 6:30pm
Highpoint is thrilled to present Michael Kareken: New Monotypes. This exhibition includes a selection from Kareken’s 30 new black and white watercolor monotypes, exploring the Pacific Northwest landscape where Kareken grew up. Each print is a reminder of a location which holds special meaning to the artist, many of them taking on a subjective point of view, looking up or down, as a way to suggest a “child’s-eye” sense of scale or perspective. Michael adds “As a child I was overwhelmed by the drama of this landscape - its scale and ever-shifting quality of light and atmosphere made a tremendous impression on me. Those early experiences remain vivid in my imagination.”
This is the artist’s first collaboration with Highpoint Editions. Kareken explored the art of monotypes by way of painting on thin polyester plates with watercolor. The artist chose to restrict himself to black and white primarily to establish a psychological tone and evoke a sense of memory, reflection, and distance towards his subjects. Michael notes “The medium is difficult to control – the watercolor floats, smears and puddles in unpredictable ways on the surface of the non-absorbent plate – but I value the direct, spontaneous quality that results from the process.”
About Michael Kareken
Michael Kareken is a Minneapolis-based artist and Professor of Fine Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. He has received grants from Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Arts Midwest, The New York Foundation for the Arts, and The Vogelstein Foundation. He was a recipient of The Louise Nevelson Award for Art from the American Academy of Arts & Letters and was awarded a residency fellowship from the Millay Colony for the Arts. Kareken's work is in the collections of Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Museum of American Art, and The Minnesota Historical Society, among others. He has exhibited his work regionally and nationally, including in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Santa Fe, and is represented by Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis.
Highpoint Presents Michael Kareken: New Monotypes in the Highpoint Editions Print Study Room. ON VIEW: SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 – OCTOBER 27, 2018
