THE CONSTRUCTED SELF 04/30/2021 - 06/25/2021 at Foto Relevance 4411 Montrose Boulevard, Suite C Houston, TX 77006

Karen Navarro’s The Constructed Self is the Houston-based photographer and multimedia artist’s first solo exhibition at Foto Relevance. A vivid and even more tactile expansion of the artist’s earlier portfolio El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos (Belonging in Modern Times), Navarro’s The Constructed Selfrealizes meditations on self-representation and identity through dynamic photosculpture configurations. Disrupting photography’s traditional two-dimensional presentation, these colorful new works come assembled in a multitude of ways—some stacked and spinning, others paneled and puzzled together. These geometric complexities illustrate the abilities we all have to reorder and rearrange the many facets of our public-facing identities.

Karen’s new work“Shine America 2043” will debut at the Holocaust Museum’ show Withstand: Latinx Art in Times of Conflict .

The show opens on April 30, 2021. Withstand: Latinx Art in Times of Conflict will explore themes of social justice and human rights through 100 artworks of Houston Latinx artists. The multi-media exhibition will be a platform that examines issues that impact the community, fosters dialogue on difficult questions, and ultimately empowers social change through art. Click here for more info.

The Constructed Self series selected as finalist and juror’s pick by the art director of Harper’s magazine, Kathryn Humphries in the Lensculture Art Photography Award. “I was drawn to Karen Navarro’s work because of the dialogue it encourages between the subjects, the artist, and the audience. The sculptural and collage elements of the work allow for the reimagining of each piece– they can be observed from different viewpoints, as well as reassembled. The palettes, large scale, and use of hashtags also provoke questions about representation and categorization. We are asked to consider who informs these decisions and which social constructs are at work in the process.” Kathryn Humphries.

“The Argentine artist, considered one of the major emerging talents in international photography, has developed some projects related to the theme of identity, self-representation and belonging⁣⁣⁣⁣” by Manuelaanamaria Accinno

Read the full article here

Interview by Liz Sales

“Hanging from the ceiling of Karen Navarro’s studio is a photographic portrait of a young woman printed in strips onto horizontal wooden slats strung together to create a mobile. Each slat in this kinetic photographic sculpture seems to have the freedom to rotate independently. So, while the actual image remains the same, the viewer’s perception of it is subject to change. 

This mobile is a piece in the artist’s ongoing series, The Constructed Self, for which she cut and reassembled photographic portraits to build collages and sculptures. Navarro, an Argentinian artist, based in Houston, Texas, has created these dimensional portraits, with pieces that can be rearranged and displayed in a variety of ways to express the relationship between identity and perception. 

In this interview for LensCulture, she speaks to Liz Sales about her inspiration to make work addressing identity, the material nature of her working process and changing sense of self.”

To read more click here

Photo Vogue Festival projections featuring “The Constructed Self” project that was selected as finalist for the PHmuseum 2020 Women Photographers Grant

View the exhibition  here

Collect & Support Latin American Photography 

“Fragment, 2019” is part of the LATINAMERICANA fine art print sale by PHmuseum. 42 Latin American photographers were selected to participate in the limited edition fine art sale that runs only for 15 days. This is a great opportunity to acquire a print of “Fragment, 2019” and the first time to be on sale in this format.

About the initiative: “Way back in 2012 in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, we started PHmuseum with the dream and ambition of creating a democratic space to access contemporary photography and its language. It is thank to the passion and support of the Latin American community that it all started. This is why our first limited edition print sale is dedicated to celebrate and discover the photography of the continent.”  Giuseppe Oliverio

PHmuseum announced the 27 finalists of the PHmuseum 2020 Photography Grant selected by an independent jury. Karen was shortlisted and all finalists are now live at phmuseum.com/w20 and will be soon virtually projected at the 2020 Photo Vogue Festival. 

Karen’s work was included in The Guardian selection of the best images from the Photo London Digital international photography fair.

Delighted to announce Karen Navarro has been shortlisted for the Photo London Emerging Photographer of the Year Award 2020, in partnership with Nikon Northern Europe. 

The prize was launched during the first edition of Photo London in 2015. It is awarded to a young artist showing at Photo London. 

The Shortlisted Finalists for the Emerging Photographer of the Year Award 2020 are: Margaret (Sherie) Ngigi, presented by AKKA Project; Sameer Tawde, presented by Up Gallery; Thandiwe Muriu, presented by 193 Gallery; Karen Navarro, presented by Fotorelevance; Angela Blažanović, presented by Sid Motion, Marguerite Bornhauser, presented by Carlos Carvalho Arte Contemporânea; David Uzochukwu, presented by Galerie no.8; Ibrahim Ahmed, presented by Tintera; Ryoichi Fujisaki, presented by KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY; Kira Leskinen,  presented by Persons Projects

The jury is composed by Simone Klein – Former Global Director of Print Sales at Magnum Photos – and Sofia Vollmer de Maduro – Director of Education, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, collector and Curator Emeritus of the Alberto Vollmer Foundation collection – both part of the Photo London  Curatorial Committee. They are joined by Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at the Guardian.