KAREN ANGELIA KOHLBERG
ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is fueled by life's continual cycles of change, repeating patterns, and an aspiration toward spiritual evolution. My expression as an artist is based on experiences of facing adversity and accepting life's impermanence. These internal explorations reveal layers of awareness that have provoked a commitment to inspire, inform, and transcend the experience of human suffering.

As His Holiness, the Dalai Lama states:
I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…

Several cultures have profoundly affected my work through international travel. Most recently, I traveled to the Kigoma region of Tanzania, Africa which has deepened my commitment to bring awareness of a culture that experiences life at the most basic level of survival. The result of spending a brief period of time in this region inspired a series of nine large-scale paintings. My focus is on giving the African woman a platform to speak of not only the suffering and hardship her daily life entails, but also her ability to endure, survive, and thrive with grace and dignity. The rich multi-layered textures of these paintings can be interpreted as a metaphor for these complex challenges. I began this series thinking that I was giving voice to the African woman and realize now that the African woman has given voice to me.

I have also enjoyed experiencing the language, roots, and unmatchable artistic expression of the great Mexican painters: Kahlo, Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, Castaneda, and Zuniga. The passion and symbolism in their expression have inspired me to work more deeply with my own representational and allegorical material.

Of deeper importance and influence, I have recently embraced my German ancestry with optimism and am particularly influenced by the German Expressionists: Munch, Kollwitz, Nolde, Marc, and Schiele. I model my work, in particular, after Kathe Kollwitz, who has a way of expressing the human condition that transcends time.

Additionally, I have embraced Jewish influences in my life. Through pro-active compassion I practice the art of Tikun Olam, the Jewish principle of each individual's responsibility to heal the world in a humble, modest way.

Finally, The Eightfold Path blends beautifully with the above principles to guide us toward: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

My goal is to bring awareness of the commonality of our shared human experiences to promote a collective consciousness of good will and happiness.