About
Statement
Exploring materials and techniques has been a driving interest throughout my art career. Though I began as a traditional artist applying paint to flat surfaces, I soon developed a unique process of weaving my own deconstructed paintings into textural dimensional constructions. Since discovering encaustic, I utilize the translucent and adhesive qualities of un-pigmented encaustic medium to layer paper lines or other shapes or materials to achieve a sense of depth and motion. My process rarely involves a preconceived message or concept. I start with a point or line, a piece of paper, or a divot in the wax. That then informs my selection and manipulation of the next element. Piece by piece and layer by layer, an idea, a memory of sights and sounds or a feeling develops in my mind and a visual representation of it results. My thoughts and process can be influenced by the materials themselves—their color shape and size and my placement and manipulation of materials is reciprocally influenced by the developing concept.
Bio - CV
Karen Tichy is a Chicago abstract mixed media artist known for her encaustic and paper line paintings. She comes from a visual communications design background that is evident in her work. After receiving an MS in Visual Communication from the Institute of Design, IIT, and Chicago, she worked as an interface designer in Boston. There, she also began painting and exploring a variety of media. After returning to her native Chicago in 2008, she established a studio/gallery in the Fine Arts Building where she continues to develop her work through continued experimentation with a variety of media. She has been incorporating encaustic medium with her deconstructed materials since 2009. She has exhibited her work in juried and invited shows in the Boston and now in the Midwest. Karen serves on the leadership committee of the Fine Arts Building Studios Collective and where she established public exhibition spaces and curates art exhibitions. Karen is a member of the Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Fused Chicago, a Midwest encaustic artist group, and a studio artist in Studio 701 Gallery in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago.
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Juried and Invitational Exhibitions:
2019 Unbound:exploring possibilities, 2 Person Exhibition, Oliva Gallery, Chicago, IL
2019 Variations in Wax, State Street Gallery, Robert Morris University,Chicago, IL
2019 Painting With Fire Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL, curated by Sergio Gomez
2019 Beyond Fayum, Arts Place, Portland Center, Portland, IN
2018 Duality Narratives, 2 Person Show, Gallery116, St Charles, IL
Curator: Sharon Schmidt
2018 Fused Chicago Small Works, Brickton Art Center, Park Ridge, IL
2017 In the Abstract, 4 Person Show, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Curator: CarolAnn Brown
2017 Preserving the Ethereal, Solo Exhibition Fine Arts Building, Chicago, IL
2016 The Dot Show, Chicago Arts District Show Pod, Chicago
2015 Expansive Visions, Prairie State College, Chicago Hts., IL Curator: Beth Shadur
2015 Textual Encounters ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013 Encaustic USA, National Exhibition, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL, Juried by Paul Klein and Shelley Gilchrist
2012 Rhythm in Wax, Fused Chicago Member juried exhibition Norris Cultural Center, St. Charles, IL
2012 Tactile Encounters, Galvin Library Gallery, IIT, Chicago, IL
2011 Element Flux, Jackson Junge Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 New Encaustic Explorations, Noyes Arts Center, Evanston, IL
2010 Chicago Art Open, River East, Chicago, IL
2009 Diverging Mergers, 2 person installation & exhibition, Finestra ArtSpace, Fine Arts Building, Chicago, IL
2007 Juried Member Exhibitions, Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead, MA
Education:
1992 MS in Visual Communication from the Institute of Design, IIT, Chicago, IL