Over the past year Navarro has been co-organizing a group exhibition that highlights Houston’s cultural diversity. Alternate Pathways is fiscally sponsored by the non-profit Fresh Arts. And, It was just awarded a Houston Arts Alliance City’s Initiative grant.
More info about the exhibition coming soon.
Four of Navarro’s pieces has been included in the group show 1000+1 at Foto Relevance. When thinking about photography, an old adage often comes to mind: a picture is worth a thousand words. To say this is to recognize photography as an inherently communicative practice, to acknowledge the ways in which an image can convey meaning when language falls short. Engaging in this conversation, 1000+1 is a group show highlighting seven contemporary artists—Kalee Appleton, Joana P. Cardozo, Mark Chen, Paul-André Larocque, Noelle Mason, Karen Navarro, and Krista Svalbonas—who expand our expectations of photography through the use of photo-based techniques in conjunction with alternative media such as sculpture, text, painting, and textiles.
1000+1 will be on view from July 12th to September 6, 2019, with an opening reception on July 12th from 6 to 8 pm.
See photos of the show, here
El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos (Belonging in Modern Times)
June 29 - July 27
El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos (Belonging in Modern Times) explores the online self-representation used as a venue to create a sense of belongingness. Inspired by cubism and the representation of the subject through the investigation of materiality and collages, the portraits were reassembled depicting a distorted image that speaks about the constructed identities we perform on social media. The participants photographed were selected by an open call on Instagram. To address this contemporary issue new technologies such as 3-D printing and laser cutting were used. Additionally, the photographs were embossed with the top 100 hashtags on Instagram.
The tridimensional collages suggest multiple layers of meaning and aim to discuss the challenges of being authentic and real in a time of obsession over portraying an online illusion of ourselves.
OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, June 29th, 6-8 pm
Gray Contemporary
3508 Lake St, Houston, TX 77098
The exhibition runs until July 27
Tues- Sat 12-5PM
For more info and to RSVP click here
“El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos” (Belonging in Modern Times) as part of Meet Her Hands exhibition series opened last week with a very successful turnout at Elisabet Ney Museum Austin, TX. Meet Her Hands is a collaborative exhibition series, produced by the non-profit #bbatx and the Elisabet Ney Museum every summer, featuring three Texan women artists from #BBATX’s annual residency.
The opening reception and artist talk for Navarro’s exhibition was held on June 13 at the Elisabet Ney Museum. The exhibition itself will be open through June 24.
ON VIEW
The exhibition runs until June 24th
Wed-Sun 12-5PM
Elisabeth Ney Museum
304 E 44th St, Austin, TX 78751
Click here for more
In April 2019 Karen attended PhotoLucida portfolio review. PhotoLucida portfolio review is a one-on-one meeting with reviewers of the participant choice. Participants can choose from gallery owners, curators, editors, photo festival directors, and publishers representing small, mid-sized, and major venues from all over the US and abroad. It’s a great way to network, both with reviewers and peers.
Geoffrey Koslov from Foto Relevance selected some photographers from Photolucida. Read what he says about Karen’s work…
“Photographers at Photolucida in Portland, Oregon represent all areas of photography-based work, expressing very different points of view. The diversity in the approach to art and image creation, using the photograph as an object with other media, is inspiring and challenging. Subject matter ranged from documentary work, performance of self and others, and imagery of found objects. Each unique. Each different. Each showing how broadly photography-based art has advanced as a tool of expression.
Karen Navarro, in her series “El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos” (translated as “Belonging in Modern Times”) is taking a very contemporary, colorful and abstracted approach to commenting on technology as it affects us today. Navarro is from Argentina, now living and working in Houston, Texas. She describes her work as “highly stylized aesthetic on a diverse array of mediums that includes photography, collage, and sculpture.” Navarro herself represents the new voice of art - multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, engaging with others in a virtual world without regard to national boundaries. She lives what her work expresses.!”
“The background of her constructed portraits use the hashtag “#” found in many of today’s apps, like Instagram. The hashtag has become the ubiquitous communication tool for people to find others of like interests. In this series of portraits, the prints are made on paper backgrounds printed with hash-tagged keywords. The bright red and print color scheme is a reference to the Instagram logo. Her models are volunteers that answered a request to pose solicited through social media. It is that virtual connection. In cases, our self-esteem and identity may be defined by how successful we garner followers, which are published for all to see and judge us. Navarro’s work expresses self-referential questions that apply “a much larger scale to ideas of construction of identity, societal expectations and the understanding of the being; prompting a discourse about the subconscious will to comply with the contemporary societies’ canons when these are in fact misleading.” Her work reflects this magnetic pull of acceptance and connection with others through the whirlpool of social media that drags us in and fragments our sense of self.”
“Navarro very cleverly modified the photographic image to create a sculptural object that reflect how social media impacts our interaction with others. The way we communicate and relate has changed. For her generation, in particular, communication is less about personal interaction and verbal direct communication. Communication among her peers is more about the iPhone, the computer, texting and messaging. What Navarro has presented us with, in these image, is our new identity. It is not a face to face interaction, but the tangles of social media that have woven us together in an electronic mesh. Her images reflect that distortion in interaction in the way the portraits are abstracted. She suggests that in order to not be an outcast in this new society, we have to accept how we seek human companionship, or be isolated. ”
Read the full article here
Meet Her Hands is a collaborative exhibition series, produced by #bbatx and the Elisabet Ney Museum every summer, featuring three Texan women artists from #BBATX’s annual residency.
This season, #BBATX host mixed media and fine art photographer Karen Navarro, collage artist Maribel Falcón and conceptual collaborators Big Chicken and Baby Bird. Each artist will showcase work within the Elisabet Ney’s collection for two weeks, and throughout the summer we’ll explore sculptor Elisabet Ney’s legacy, while writing a new, more inclusive history of women in the arts.
Meet her hands no. 1: Karen Navarro l june 13 to June 24
The opening reception and artist talk for Navarro’s exhibition will be held on June 13 at the Elisabet Ney Museum. The exhibition opens at 6:30 PM with complimentary refreshments by Austin Cocktails, followed by a tour of the museum at 7:00 PM and an artist talk at 7:30 PM. The exhibition itself will be open through June 23.
The event is free and open to the public with RSVP. Get your RSVP here.
PhotoVogue is Vogue.it photography platform curated by the Photo Editors of Vogue Italia: a platform for photographers to showcase their talent with the opportunity to take part in international exhibitions and initiatives and the chance of being represented by New York agency Art+Commerce, one of the most prestigious in the world.
Check out Karen’s profile here
HOUSTON, TX (March 28, 2019)— Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) is pleased to announce the 2019 Gala and Art Auction. The event will be hosted at CAMH on Friday, April 12, 2019 from 7PM-midnight.
Since 1948 the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston has shared the art of our time at no cost to visitors who come through their doors. It is through the amazing generosity of patrons and artists that they maintain and advance their mission. Every year a curated selection of artists and their galleries are asked to donate work for the benefit of the Museum through the Annual Gala and Art Auction. In turn, proceeds from the Annual Gala and Art Auction benefit CAMH’s exhibitions and educational programming.
The auction artwork will be available for view from Monday 04/06 until Friday 04/12 during regular museum hours.
Latino Art Now (LAN!), features a second billboard with Karen’s artwork Subject #13.
The 6th Latino Art Now! is April 4-6, 2019 Houston, TX. Click here to learn more about LAN!
