Artist: Karen Tepaz
Exhibition title: Soft Bloom
Venue: Sardine, New York, US
Date: December 8, 2018 – January 20, 2019
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Sardine, New York
SARDINE is pleased to present SOFT BLOOM, a solo exhibition by Karen Tepaz. The show opens with a reception on Saturday, December 8, 2018, from 6 to 9 pm and will be up through Sunday, January 20, 2019.
In SOFT BLOOM, Tepaz continues her investigation of form and material while experimenting with the scale and presentation of her work. She depicts symbols and forms with no premeditated structure, only an immediate moment, dissected and rearranged. Tepaz works the balance between surface treatment and color selection and draws correlations from her influences of flowers, language, the body and sounds of fluidity. The bold curved edges of the sculptures cut through the space around them activating a lyrical energy and force, organic shapes open like petals or gaping mouths. Both the work and the viewer are free to shift and transform perspectives at every angle as each form unfolds naturally, creating an environment for mindful contemplation.
Karen Tepaz is interested in the expressive potential of objects blending the use of color, form and material in a compositional lexicon. Tepaz received her M.F.A in Sculpture from Yale University School of Art and a B.F.A in Ceramics from California State University, Long Beach. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at CACTTUS gallery (Long Beach, CA), and group shows at The Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC (NY, NY), The Gallery ATLAS (Newburgh, NY) The Whitney Houston Biennial (NY, NY) BOMB POP-UP (Brooklyn, NY), GlenLily Grounds (Newburgh, NY) Basement Projects (Santa Ana, CA) among others. In 2018 Tepaz co-curated “Flat Touch” and “In Between the Lines” in Steuben Gallery at Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY). She is the recipient of the Art Farm Nebraska Residency, and this spring she was invited to exhibit new work at Thomas Hunter Project Space, at Hunter College (NY, NY). Tepaz lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Karen Tepaz, Soft Bloom, 2018, exhibition view, Sardine, New York
Karen Tepaz, Soft Bloom, 2018, exhibition view, Sardine, New York
Karen Tepaz, Soft Bloom, 2018, exhibition view, Sardine, New York
Karen Tepaz, Soft Bloom, 2018, exhibition view, Sardine, New York
Karen Tepaz, Double Spin, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, marble dust, color pencils, 15”x14”x10”
Karen Tepaz, Open Wide, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, metal, marble dust, chalk pastels, 34”x22”x7”
Karen Tepaz, 3 Loops make 5, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, marble dust, metal, oil pastels, charcoal, 35”x14”x7”
Karen Tepaz, Flow, 2018, metal, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, oil pastel, color pencils, chalk pastels, 31”x15”x5”
Karen Tepaz, Flow, 2018, metal, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, oil pastel, color pencils, chalk pastels, 31”x15”x5”
Karen Tepaz, Reflector, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, metal, acrylic paint, oil pastel, 20”x20”x9”
Karen Tepaz, Reflector, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, metal, acrylic paint, oil pastel, 20”x20”x9”
Karen Tepaz, Untitled, Relief #1, 2018, cardboard, aqua resin, marble dust, chalk pastels, 15”x23”x2”
Karen Tepaz, Split lip, 2018, aqua resin, cardboard, fiber glass, oil sticks, oil pastels, 28”x19”x12”