Based in Crozet, Virginia, Karen Blair’s work is based on scenes of nature and inspired heavily on her surroundings. Growing up in Winston-Salem, she began creating at an early age with parents that fostered her interest in art.
Born 1953 Winston Salem, North Carolina
Lives and works in Charlottesville, VA
EDUCATION
2003
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2002
Shrinemont Artist’s Workshop, Orkney Springs, VA
Nimrod Artists Workshop, Nimrod, VA
2001
Shrinemont Artist’s Workshop, Orkney Springs, VA
1976
BFA, University of North Carolina – Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
Diurnal Rhythms, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2018
Point of View, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2014
Around The Bend, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2008
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2004
Gallery 5800, Richmond, VA
2003
Recent Paintings, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, VA
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
The Art Box, Crozet, VA
Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
2016
CURRENT Art Fair, Richmond, VA
Bee Street Studio, Dallas, TX
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
Shenandoah Valley Arts Center, Waynesboro, VA
CoArts Gallery, Richmond, VA
2015
Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville,VA
Shade, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2014
Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center, Portsmouth, VA
Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2013
Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, Portsmouth, VA
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2012
Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Gallery Piquel, New Hope, Pennsylvania
2011
The United States Capitol Building, Washington, DC
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA
2010
Hampton House Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC
2008
Studio 11 Gallery, Lexington, VA
Symphony Designer House
2007
December Project, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2006
Rentz Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2005
Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
Radius 250, Plant Zero, Richmond, Virginia; juried exhibition curated by John Ravenal, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family
Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia
2003
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont
Recent Paintings, Gallery 5800, Richmond, Virginia
Summer Paintings, Gallery 5800 Richmond, Virginia
2002
Nimrod Artists Exhibition, The James Center, Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Museum Studio School Invitational Exhibition, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Shrinemont Artists Exhibition, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
2000
Virginia Museum Studio School Invitational Exhibition, Virginia useum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
SELECT COLLECTIONS
Capital One, Richmond, VA
Phillip Morris, USA, Inc.
Markel Corporation
Owens & Minor
Hourigan Construction, Inc.
Troutman Sanders LLP
Le Clair Ryan, A Professional Corporation
Westminster Canterbury, Richmond
Dominion Resources
Couric Clinical Cancer Center, UVA Hospital
Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, VA
Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, NC
Commissioned Works
Troutman Sanders LLP
RESIDENCIES
2008
Artist Residency Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Reynolds Foundation Grant Recipient
2003
Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT.
FELLOWSHIPS
2007
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Reynolds Foundation Fellowship Recipient
Picasso once remarked that “There is no abstract art, you always have to begin with something. Taking his words to heart, these paintings begin and end with the landscape. Starting with some marks in paint or oil stick a horizon line appears, the meander of a stream takes shape and the color of a mountain ridge at sunset emerges. Subsequent layers edit, refine and hone the image. The physical act of pushing the paint around and acknowledging the formal demands of a composition are key ingredients of the constant refinement.
While maintaining elements of landscape, they push further into recording memories of experiences. We live in an age of Instant images and endless sharing of two-dimensional pictures. We scroll, we tweet, we blog. Painting is an act of rebellion against this; guerrilla warfare in an electronic age. These are the stories I want to tell my children, a record of a life spent in awe of the physical world.
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Diurnal Rhythms: Karen Blair
May 03, 2019 - May 31, 2019
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POINT OF VIEW: Karen Blair
APRIL 06, 2018 — APRIL 28, 2018
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SUNSCREEN
July 13, 2017 — September 01, 2017
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Sixteen Sixteen
October 07, 2016 — October 29, 2016
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KAREN BLAIR & MASH UP
December 12, 2014 — January 17, 2015
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20/20 GALLERY ANNIVERSARY
October 4 - October 25, 2019 | Reception October 4, 6-8pm