Spotlight on Collage Artist Trading Card Artist
Karli Henneman
Karli Henneman has lived an interesting life. She grew up in Idaho and began working in the fashion industry overseas by the age of 15. She spent her teenage years primarily in Japan, before starting her art education in Paris at Parsons the New School for Design. She finished her studies in at Parsons in New York. She has made art workshop for children in Rwanda, worked as a model and an artist who makes large-scale abstract paintings. Her studies in art therapy, the connection between art making and psychology, have informed her work. She writes, “I pull images from popular culture, and fashion magazines, and vintage images from Life loaded with strong emotional content. By deconstructing faces, I intend to create a shell for the viewers to find themselves in my work.”
Henneman is one of the 15 artists featured in Collage Artist Trading Card Pack #4. Collage Artist Trading Card packs are a tool for discovering contemporary, fine art collage. Each card is a full colour, 5.5” x 3.5” postcard with rounded corners. An example of an artist’s work is on the front of the card and the artist’s public contact information is on the back. We interviewed her about her work.
How did you come to make Lonely?
Lonely was the first piece of a mixed media painting series I have been exploring throughout the last two years. I started Lonely as a vivid abstract acrylic painting on canvas. As the piece developed, I let the composition of the paint dictate where to add readymade (magazine) cutouts. By deconstructing the faces of the magazines I found a concept that I sparked my curiosity, How do I sense and see myself in an image based society?
Why did you want to make this work?
I began Lonely filled with self-reflection. I was searching internally to find meaning, love, and acceptance. I embraced the conceptual idea and encouraged myself to experience the pure joy of playing with new materials and painting techniques. I poured, brushed, tore, cut, stenciled, taped, and glued to build this piece.
What are you working on these days?
I am currently re-working all my mixed media paintings on canvas. The next chapter is adding a layer of textile and embroidery. I am sewing, threading, and beading my work over the past few years.
Karli Henneman lives in San Francisco, California. You can see more of her art on her website. She is also on Tumblr.
PURCHASE COLLAGE ARTIST TRADING CARDS
Image (top):
Life & Worth by Karli Henneman (60″x40″; acrylic, mixed-media paper collage, matte gel, gloss on canvas)
Image (centre):
LONE LY by Karli Henneman (40”x30”; acrylic, mixed media-paper collage, matte gel, gloss; 2013)
Image (bottom):
Timeless by Karli Henneman