Degree MFA in Printmaking with Department Merit Fellowship
San Francisco Art Institute
Second Degree BA in Magna cum laude; Fine Art Printmaking
University at Albany - State University of New York
Professional Affiliation Interim President, Vice President, California Society of Printmakers
Second Professional Affiliation Artist in Residence, Parent Artist Award Recipient 2018, Kala Art Institute
Research/Current Projects Karen Gallagher Iverson is a San Francisco area artist exploring innovative conventions within the fields of traditional printmaking and drawing. With a focus on uniquely expressing the light and silhouettes of the Northern California landscape, Gallagher employs a variety of methods to visually abstract information and build rich, highly layered images. Gallagher has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums including the deYoung Museum, Turner Print Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Grace Hudson Museum, New Museum Los Gatos, San Jose Quilt Museum, and Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. Features on her studio practice and work can most recently be seen in the vol7:4 issue of Catamaran Literary Reader and vol 30/31 of the Mid America Print Council Journal. Karen’s work is in the collections of the Bancroft Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stanford Health Care, The Nevada Museum of Art as well as other private and public collections. In 2018 she was selected to receive an Artist Parent Award at the Kala Art Institute and continues to maintain an artist residency at their Berkeley printmaking facilities. Additionally, Karen has taught in educational programs such as Kala, and the San Francisco Art Institute, where she received her MFA with the department fellowship. Karen currently leads the California Society of Printmakers as President and is an elected member of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, the Boston Printmakers and Mid America Print Council. She brings to her current roles decades of experience as a fine art installer, gallery preparator, studio manager and project assistant for prominent artists, projects and galleries in the San Francisco region. Karen currently focuses the majority of her time in the studio, alongside her young family.
“As a printmaker my current artistic focus pushes against the boundaries of printmaking and the act of drawing. Specifically how drawing materials and methods intersect with the vast system of resists, screens and hidden reversals inherent in printmaking. At this crossing point I build layers and images that have distance from their original material and process, allowing atmosphere to take precedence and direct the visual conversation”.
Time Period Interests Contemporary
Area Interests North America
Media Interests Digital printmaking, Engraving, Lithography, Monoprinting, Relief printing, Screenprinting
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