KAREN WHITMAN

   Whitman’s linoleum block prints are primarily inspired by New York City but most could be of almost any city. She works in black and white, enjoying the challenge of using extreme light and dark as well as texture to create a strong impact without the dazzle of color. She is also determined in this world of push-button images and shortcuts of convenience, to keep the tradition of making hand-pulled prints alive.

  In searching for a subject for a print, Karen looks for a dynamic and mostly busy and complex compositions. She draws some images from life, but there are those she invents completely. Most combine the two, to which she often adds a narrative quality.

  Whitman is excited by the city’s people and all its living creatures, although the leaning and swaying buildings often play the image’s central characters. In focusing on city dwellers living their daily lives and giving life to its architecture, she aims to portray the city as positive, accessible, and beautiful, even whimsical; yet curiously, the prints cross the line between whimsy and foreboding. The city embodies both, which is why it inspires her and is the primary subject of her work.