Karen was recently interviewed about her series “El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos” by Haley Berkman Karren on Houston Center for Photography’s SPOT Magazine. 

 “I think I made this work to break some rules in the photography world and to challenge the medium. This series is a point of experimentation for me as well—an introduction to sculpture, which is something I want to explore in the future. I want to push the boundaries of not only photography, but my art practice as well. I feel like this thinking aligns with the Cubist mentality because Cubism was drastically breaking away from existing modes of thinking.”

Read the full interview here

Karen’s work will be included in Aint–Bad’s No. 14 annual publication. Aint–Bad is an independent publisher of new photographic Art. The Issue No. 14 showcases over 150 leading contemporary photographers from all over the world within 256 pages. This publication will act as a record of the best photographic work being made today.

Now you can buy some of the pieces from the series “El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos” on Artsy through Foto Relevance

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

Subject #11 Laser-cut embossed archival inkjet print

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.!”

©”Subject #9”, Archival Digital Print. Image by Karen Navarro.

“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.”

©”Subject #12”, image by Karen Navarro. Archival Digital Print.

“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. 

“I am the Object” Karen Navarro © (2016) next to Sunil Gupta & Charan Singh’s, and Thomas Glassford’s artwork.

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!

LOS ANGELES March 19th - Professional photographer Karen Navarro of United States was presented with the 12th Annual International Color Awards Nominee title in the category of fine art at a prestigious Nomination & Winners Photoshow streamed Saturday, March 9, 2019.

The live online gala was attended by 11,829 photography fans around the globe who logged on to watch the climax of the industry’s most important event for color photography. 12th Annual Jury members included captains of the industry from Sotheby’s, New York; Benetton, Ponzano Veneto; The Art Channel, London; Kolle Rebbe, Hamburg; Droga5, New York; Preus Museum, Norway; Art Beatus, Hong Kong; Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg; Wieden & Kennedy, Portland; Fox Broadcasting Network, Los Angeles; Gallery Kong, Seoul; and Phillips, New York who honored Color Masters with 761 title awards and 1,032 nominees in 37 categories.

“Winning awards is an endorsement that you are doing something right in your craft”, “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 7,241 entries we received this year,” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. “Karen Navarro’s ”I am the Egg,” an exceptional image entered in the fine art category, represents contemporary color photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present her with the title of Nominee.”

INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in color photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in color photography. www.colorawards.com

BossBabesATX, the Texas-based nonprofit that amplifies and connects women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and organizers, annually works with 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists to produce site-specific work, commissions and exhibitions throughout their programming and collaborations with like-minded collectives, institutions, and brands. Through these residencies, they invite the public to learn more about their process, approach, and sustainability of their practice.

Every first Thursday in April through September they have organized an event that celebrates the work of women artists in #BBATX’s 2019 residency where you can enjoy art and DJ sets. 

Karen’s work will be featured in VOLUME SIX: SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 @ The LINE Austin Pool Deck (opening night for BABES FEST 2019). The artists that will be featured are Eileen Wu, DJ Dama Nilz, Karen Navarro and Recspec. 

To RSVP Click here 

Intersections celebrates women of color through a diverse collection of 22 artists and their stories told from a variety experiences and perspectives. In addition to highlighting artists from San Antonio, the exhibition aims to explore spaces across Texas and the narratives of women of color from the region. Presa House has reached out to a selection of curators from Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, and Laredo, TX to collaborate in creating space and a platform for these artists.

OPENING INTERSECTIONS

February 1, 06:00 - 11:00
Presa House Gallery
725 S. Presa, San Antonio, Texas 78210

The exhibitions runs until February 23
By appointment only

To read more Click here

To watch Top 5 Glasstire video Click here 

Artadia is pleased to announce the five inaugural Houston Artadia Fellows: Abdul Basit, Pakistan; Lanre Buraimoh, Nigeria; Eduardo Herrera, Ecuador; Karen Navarro, Argentina; and Sanya Wafeq, Afghanistan.

The Houston Artadia Fellowship is a pilot program designed to connect Houston’s diverse immigrant and refugee artists with other artists, each other, and the international art world through close collaborations with local partners, critical discourse, exhibition opportunities, and studio visits with renowned curators and artists to support and cultivate artistic excellence. Fellows are invited to participate in conversations around art practice, sustainability, and the locality of the city’s art scene while simultaneously providing the resources to address needs specific to those communities. Click here for more

El Pertenecer en Tiempos Modernos (Belonging in Modern Times) sculpture prototype

Latino Art Now (LAN!) is a leading National forum for artists, art professionals, educators, scholars, critics, and art dealers to periodically explore the contours of Latin American art. The 6th Latino Art Now! is April 4-6, 2019 Houston, TX. Click here to learn more about LAN!

“I am different” 2017 © Karen Navarro on LAN! billboard

After Curated by Girls, the Berlin-based online platform for talented, emerging and established artists from around the world, featured Karen’s work online. Karen was contacted to exhibit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in New Femininity #3, a show organized and curated by Curated by Girls.

Click here for the online feature.

Click here for exhibition info.

The Houston Review, the online source for Houston art scene and reviews, reviewed “Mujeres del Sur” (Women from the South) group exhibition held at the gallery The Union, TX, curated by Theresa Escobedo. Photographs from the series “Soft Objects” were displayed in this exhibition. Click here to read the full review by Meghan Hendley-Lopez. 

Also, check the Party Pics by Glasstire. Glasstire is an online-only art magazine promoting visual arts in Texas to a local, regional and national audience. Click here to watch.

Works by Karen Navarro and Xochi Solis

Works by Karen Navarro: Untitled (fishnet) left, Untitled (butt) right

Works by Karen Navarro: Untitled (fishnet) left, Untitled (butt) right

PHmuseum, the curated platform for contemporary photography, has interviewed Karen about the ongoing project “El Pertenecer en tiempos modernos” (Belonging in Modern Times). Click here to read the full interview. 

A Feminine Perspective, a trio show at HCC Northline Art Gallery. The full body of work ” Soft Objects” will be on view until October 9th. Click here to watch the interview during the opening 

Sawyer Yards promotes Art Stroll event in PaperCity with Karen’s image. Click here to see the article.

Houston Center for Photography Learning Curve 11 exhibit juried by Haley Berkman, the Curatorial Assistant at The Menil Collection, Houston, features “Smashed Face ll” as the leading image for the exhibition. 

Click here for the opening

Click here for artists and juror talks

“Smashed Face ll” 2017 © Karen Navarro

“I am Different” 2017 © Karen Navarro

“Smashed Face ll” 2017 © Karen Navarro

“Smashed Face ll” 2017 © Karen Navarro

“I am Different” 2017 © Karen Navarro

Life Framer, the photography award that sources and showcases outstanding work from amateur to established artists, have selected Karen’s profile and series “Deconstruction” to be included in their online collection. Click here to see the collection.