My intention is to evoke wonder through the unexpected use of material and technique. My work is often an expression of or commentary on my art-making process itself.
Karen Tichy - Visual Artist
Statement
Exploring materials and techniques has been a driving interest throughout my art career. Though I began as a traditional artist applying paint to flat surfaces, I soon developed a unique process of weaving my own deconstructed paintings into textural dimensional constructions. Since discovering encaustic, I utilize the translucent and adhesive qualities of un-pigmented encaustic medium to layer paper lines or other shapes or materials to achieve a sense of depth and motion. My process rarely involves a preconceived message or concept. I start with a point or line, a piece of paper, or a divot in the wax. That then informs my selection and manipulation of the next element. Piece by piece and layer by layer, an idea, a memory of sights and sounds or a feeling develops in my mind and a visual representation of it results. My thoughts and process can be influenced by the materials themselves—their color shape and size and my placement and manipulation of materials is reciprocally influenced by the developing concept.
Bio - CV
Karen Tichy is a Chicago abstract mixed media artist known for her encaustic and paper line paintings. She comes from a visual communications design background that is evident in her work. After receiving an MS in Visual Communication from the Institute of Design, IIT, and Chicago, she worked as an interface designer in Boston. There, she also began painting and exploring a variety of media. After returning to her native Chicago in 2008, she established a studio/gallery in the Fine Arts Building where she continues to develop her work through continued experimentation with a variety of media. She has been incorporating encaustic medium with her deconstructed materials since 2009. She has exhibited her work in juried and invited shows in the Boston and now in the Midwest. Karen serves on the leadership committee of the Fine Arts Building Studios Collective and where she established public exhibition spaces and curates art exhibitions. Karen is a member of the Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Fused Chicago, a Midwest encaustic artist group, and a studio artist in Studio 701 Gallery in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago.