Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Greenwell.
Hi Kara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Kara Greenwell, a visual artist originally from Ohio, but have called San Diego home for 16 years. I like to joke that I was born with a split-brain personality. My mother was an art teacher, my father an attorney, and I’m basically split right down the middle. I mention this because my work explores the dichotomy of creativity and analytics, of intuition and intention. My art practice is also inextricably linked to my own story.
I create works of self-reflection and societal investigation. My gestural mixed media paintings juxtapose vivid personal narrative with provocative feminist and political themes.
For as long as I can remember, I struggled with expectations of femininity. As a youth, I learned girls should be small, be quiet and be obedient. As an adult, I heard women should be wives, be mothers, and be caregivers. But surely females can do more, can be more?
I suppose I should back up for a minute and confess that painting actually found me later in life. I almost went to art school, but instead followed the path more traveled, with a BA from Miami University in Ohio, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School and a career in marketing. My husband and I settled in San Diego and had two spunky daughters. While life was good, I always felt something was missing. And then, I encountered the excruciating trauma of losing a third baby and undergoing years of unsuccessful fertility treatments.
In the midst of my time of need, it was Art that saved me.
My art practice challenges conventional notions of femininity with large-scale, aggressive gestures and confrontational messaging. In layering traditional painting materials with up-cycled ephemera, such as children’s artwork, delivery packages, and dress patterns, I deconstruct domesticity while reassembling my own definition of womanhood.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While it took me a long time to find my way back to my childhood love of art, from the moment I stepped into an abstract painting class, I felt at home. After spending decades hunched over a computer in cubicle-filled offices, playing with paint in a spacious studio is a blessing for which I am truly grateful. Of course, at times in the studio I struggle with self-doubt or painter’s-block or even loneliness. But if I just keep putting brush to canvas, eventually, the Muse will guide me through it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I tell the tales women are taught to hide. Frustrations and insecurities… resentments and vulnerabilities…obsessions and inequities. Juxtaposing rich hues with aggressive markings, bold brushstrokes with hidden messages, my work illuminates the impossible mix of optimism and despair defining femininity today.
I am proud that my work has been exhibited at museums and galleries nationwide, including Oceanside Museum of Art (CA), Prince Street Gallery (NY), Tarleton State University (TX), and Harvard Business School (MA). I was also selected for artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, and at ChaNorth in Hudson Valley, NY. I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of mixed-media art as a means of challenging traditional constructs of femininity.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The sun! As someone who spent the first half of life in dreary, gray Midwestern winters, I never tire of waking up to a sunny San Diego Day. It is an instant mood booster and a daily invitation to get outside and be active.
San Diego really is my dream place to live. I suppose the biggest drawback is just how far away I am from family. But luckily, they like to come visit and share in the sunshine!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.karagreenwell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karagreenwellart
Image Credits
Kara Greenwell
