Fascinated by the moon and its cycles, Karen Fitzgerald focuses her work on perception and the natural world. View more of her portfolio by visiting her website.
“Day Blind New Moon” Oil with 23k Gold on Panel, 24” Diameter
The natural world has always been the touchstone for my work.
“Dusk Blind New Moon” Oil on Prepared Paper, Black Ground, 18” x 22.5”
It is the sense I have when out in the woods, or walking in a garden, that informs my work. Something is there with me, and this energy, presence, a thing hard to put words to, is what brings me to wishing to say something about these experiences of being in the natural world.
“Little Cloud Wants Something Else” Oil with 18k Gold on Patterned, Prepared Paper, 23” x 31”
Over the past several years the moon has been a constant subject.
“New Moon” Oil with 21k Moon Gold on Panel, 42” Diameter
Ever-changing, the light and condition of her cycle provoke a curiosity. Even in her new moon phase, she is there in the sky. Invisible to us until the cycle brings her sliver by sliver into view, her presence is inimitable.
“Night Blind New Moon” Oil with 23k Gold on Panel, 24” Diameter
The new moon paintings play with the idea of what is there, and what is not there. Borrowing a line from a Wendell Berry poem, the day-blind new moon plays with presence and absence. I use perceptual subtlety as a metaphor for the subtlety with which our consciousness shifts moment by moment.
“Night Clouds Whispering About Summertime” Oil on Prepared Paper, Black Ground, 29” x 34”
The natural world is an intricate mess of interwoven energies: a filigree of rootedness that travels not just through soil, but also, air, light, water, and the myriad energies of synaptic surging.
“The Wind at Dusk” Oil with 21k Gold on Patterned, Prepared Paper, 22” x 25”
Several months ago, I wondered if everything was becoming activism. Within a journal as part of The Moral Arc of the Universe project, I considered my own voice. My aesthetic is not drawn into that of political protest, nor issues-driven content.
“Winter Moon for Alan” Oil with 23k Gold on Panel, 36” Diameter
Like poets before me, this voice is one of noticing our world, and saying what is seen. The edge of there-ness and how we perceive nothingness is less than a breath away from belief. The surfaces here embody a specificity of there-ness, and translate very poorly beyond direct perception.
“Wind Visits the Aetherium” Oil with Aluminum on Patterned, Prepared Paper, 31” x 38”
Because this work is dynamic and spiritual to its core, you will need to see it in person someday soon.
Artist Karen Fitzgerald invites you to follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Lovely mesmeric work – inventive, thoughtful and well executed.
Many thanks, Sophia.
I appreciate your comments.
Best wishes,
Karen