Karen Azarnia is an artist, educator and independent curator. Born in Miami, FL she currently lives and works in Chicago. Through painting, Azarnia explores themes of time, home, memory, and natural life cycles. Her work operates at the intersection of domestic and natural environments. Navigating the delicate balance between abstraction and representation, works from her latest Verdant series are characterized by lushness and generosity – an act of care for the viewer. The work seeks to inspire renewal and resilience, drawing parallels between the meditative rhythms of nature and the painting process.
Azarnia has exhibited nationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions including recently at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts (solo, Gary, IN), the Yale Institute of Sacred Music (New Haven, CT), Alma Gallery (Chicago, IL), the Riverside Arts Center (Riverside, IL), and Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Chicago, IL). She is a grant recipient from the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and a Make a Wave Awardee from the 3Arts Foundation. Her work has been included in publications including Hyperallergic, the Chicago Tribune, Newcity, and the Huffington Post. Azarnia currently teaches in the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Featured Artworks
Purple Iris (renewal)
2023, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 14" x 11"
Installation view, "Symphonia: Dialogues of Landscape, Ritual and Resilience"
Yale Institute of Sacred Music, New Haven, CT. January 22 - March 7, 2025. From left to right: Peak Bloom, 2023, White Iris, 2024, Cardoon, 2024, Overgrown (abundance) 2024.
Dark Pool (after Neruda's Sonnet XVII)
2023, Oil on canvas, 14" x 11"
Spring (fecundity)
2024, Acrylic on canvas, 14" x 11"
Installation view, dusk: "Queen Anne's Lace"
Site specific installation on the occasion of the Terrain Biennial: Mycelium Connection, October 1 - November 15, 2023. Oak Park, IL.