• Qualia 4223
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 18" x 18"
    • $2000
    • Qualia 513
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 36" x 36"
    • $4000
    • Qualia 463
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 36" x 36"
    • $4000
    • Qualia 487
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 36" x 36"
    • $4000
    • Qualia 160
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 48" x 48"
    • $7000
    • Qualia 260
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 48" x 48"
    • $7000
    • Qualia 415
    • acrylic on canvas
    • 48" x 48"
    • $7000
    • Ruche 0352.153
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • $2000
    • Ruche 0352.2
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
      • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.32
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
      • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.37
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.41
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • $2000
    • Ruche 0352.118
    • Encaustic, casein on cradled board
    • 16" x 16"
    • $3500
    • Ruche 0352.119
    • Encaustic, casein on cradled board
    • 16" x 16"
    • $3500
    • Ruche 0352.127
    • Encaustic, casein on cradled board
    • 16" x 16"
    • $3500
    • Ruche Off 0565.2
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 30" x 40" diptych
    • $7200
    • Ruche Off 0569.29
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 24" x 12"
    • $3500
    • Ruche Off 0507.6
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 32" x 16"
    • $4500
    • Ruche Off 0505.111
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 24" x 20"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.33
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.65
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.8
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 20" x 20"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0614.5
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 20" x 20"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.64
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • SOLD
    • Ruche 0352.20
    • Encaustic on panel
    • 12" x 12"
    • SOLD

Artist Statement

Qualia, a term used in philosophy, refers to the subjective or qualitative properties of experiences. In other words, qualia are the attributes of something—its feel or appearance rather than the thing itself.

My series, Qualia, is rooted in that ideology—an acknowledgement that no two people will experience my paintings in the same way. It is also a continuation of my exploration of visual perception and cognition through the interaction of color within the confines of symmetrical patterning.

Color is not static. Its appearance is modified by its relationship to other colors. I use that effect to challenge the predictability inherent in patterns through the juxtaposition and modulation of value and hue. The objective term for this effect is simultaneous contrast; the subjective phenomenon is qualia.

Artist Bio

Karen Freedman is recognized for her vibrant abstract geometric paintings that explore the interaction of color and its ability to alter perception. She began her formal art training studying jewelry design at the Philadelphia College of Art and graphic design at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She then went on to build a successful graphic design business followed by her immersion in the fine arts.

Freedman has exhibited both locally and nationally at venues that include the Cape Cod Museum of Art; Endicott College, Beverly Massachusetts; Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey; The Gallery at Penn State Great Valley; The State Museum of Pennsylvania; Art Center Sarasota; Kimball Art Center, Park City, Utah; and the George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey. Her paintings are part of the permanent collections at Temple University’s Howard Gittis Student Center and Park Towne Place, Philadelphia. Freedman’s work is featured in the books Encaustic With a Textile Sensibility by Daniella Woolf, Encaustic Art (Art of the Century) by Jennifer Margell, and Encaustic Art in the Twenty-First Century by Anne Lee & E. Ashley Rooney, as well as numerous exhibition catalogs.

Selected Exhibitions

2019

Momentum, Space ANNEX, Denver, CO

2018

Geometry in Color, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

2018 Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Abington, PA

Organic to Geometric, Investigations in Structure and SurfaceProvincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA

2017

Depth PerceptionCape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA

Cerulean Arts Invitational, Cerulean Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2016

The Best of 2016, Space Gallery, Denver, CO

“Encaustic Art in the Twenty-first Century” Book Signing and Group Exhibition,Galer Estate Vineyard & Winery, Kennett Square, PA

2015

MathThematic: a fine art exhibition, Esther Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Patterns, The Art Trust at Meridian Bank, West Chester, PA

Group Exhibit, Schoolhouse Gallery, Cape Cod, MA

Minimal/Maximum, Ninth International Encaustic Conference, Truro Center for the Arts, Cape Cod, MA

Pattern: Organic – Geometric, Space Gallery, Denver, CO

Organic to Geometric: Investigations in Structure and Surface, Endicott College, Beverly MA

2014

RSVP 2014, LG Tripp Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ

2013

Obscure/Reveal, James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

Reverberance, Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic, Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA

Cumulative Force, The Gallery at R&F, Kingston, NY

Symmetry, Joseph & Marilyn Henry Gallery, Penn State Great Valley, Malvern PA

2012

Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2012, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

2012 Muse Invitational, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011

WOW!: Women & Wax, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL


Beeline, Fifth International Encaustic Conference, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA


Rhomboid Rumba, joannemattera.blogspot.com


2011


Encaustic With a Textile Sensibility, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT


2010

Best Foot Forward, Fourth Encaustic Painting Conference at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA

2009

Prime, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA


Artist of the Month – September, www.rfpaints.com,
R&F Handmade Paints, Kingston, NY

Encaustic Works ‘09, sponsored by R&F Paints, Castle Gallery at the College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY, Juror: Heather Hutchinson

Tangible Wax, Prairie State College Christopher Art Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL


Art Connections 5, George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, Juror: Patricia G. Selden

2008

Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

Carano Gallery, Inaugural ExhibitionCarano Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

On the EdgeSecond National Encaustic Painting Conference at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA

66th Annual Awards Painting ExhibitCheltenham Arts Center, Cheltenham, PA

2007

2nd Annual Juried Group ExhibitionSchuylkill Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Textures, Schuylkill Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2006

Absolutely Abstract Juried Exhibition, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA

smARTS Juried Group Show, Philadelphia, PA

2005

The American Juried Art Salon, Dallas, TX

Artists at the Mills, Crafts for Living Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2003

63rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA

Awards

Juror’s Award, Minimal/Maximum,Ninth International Encaustic Conference, Cod, MA, 2015,juror: Mike Carroll

Director’s Award, Best Foot Forward, Fourth Annual Encaustic Painting Conference at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA, 2010, juror: Joanne Mattera

Artist of Merit, Absolutely Abstract Juried Exhibition, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA, 2006, juror: Moe Brooker

Publications

Organic to Geometric, Investigations in Structure and Surface, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA,exhibition catalog 2018, magcloud.com

Krysa, Danielle. “Karen Freedman”, thejealouscurator.com, January 5, 2017

Lee, Anne and Rooney, E. Ashley, Encaustic Art in the Twenty-First Century, Schiffer Publishing, 2016

Michael Paolia, “Artists Repeat Themselves in Pattern, an Elegant Group Show at Space Gallery”, Westword Arts & Culture, May 20, 2015

Pattern Geometric |Organic, exhibition catalog published by Space Gallery, Denver, CO, magcloud.com

Winiarski, Deborah, “Off the Grid…,” ProWax Journal, Issue 10, July 30, 2015

Organic to Geometric, Investigations in Structure and Surface, Endicott College, Beverly, MA, exhibition catalog 2015, magcloud.com

Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic, Hunterdon Art Museum, exhibition catalog, magcloud.com

Studio Visit Magazine, Open Studios Press, Winter 2014, juror: Barbara OBrien

Margell, Jennifer, Encaustic Art (Art of Century), Parkstone Press, 2013

Shaw, Kurt, “Review: James Gallery collection reveals complex works painted with wax,”Trib LIVE, December 5, 2013

Martina, J. Fatima, “Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic”, ArtscopeMay – June, 2013, p. 11

Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic, CCMoA Exhibition Catalog, 2013, magcloud.com

Belto, Michelle, In the Encaustic Studio, Advanced Mixed Media Techniques, North Light DVD, 2013

Woolf, Daniella, Encaustic With a Textile Sensibility, Waxy Buildup Press, Santa Cruz, CA, 2013

Prime, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, exhibition catalog, 2009

Encaustic Works ‘09, exhibition catalog, 2009

Activities

LECTURES AND TALKS

2017

Workshop Instructor — “Maintaining Your Edge: The Art of Stenciling”, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, Truro, MA

Presenter — “Professional Practices: Six Things They Never Taught You In Art School, 11th International Encaustic Conference, Provincetown, MA

2015

Presenter — Professional Practices: Six Things They Never Taught You In Art School”, 9th International Encaustic Conference, Provincetown, MA

2009

Workshop Instructor — “Intro to Encaustic Workshop”, Philadelphia, PA

reviews

Kurt Shaw, TribLIVE (Pittsburgh Tribune), December 4, 2013 “Review: James Gallery Collection Reveals Complex Works Painted With Wax”.Click image to link to review.

J. Fatima Martins, Artscope Magazine, May/June 2013 “Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence in Contemporary Encaustic”, p.10-11.Click image for a PDF of the review. I am mentioned on the second page.