ARTIST STATEMENT
Woods is primarily and oil painter whose subject is a traveler’s view through the window of a moving vehicle. Often, though not always, these views from the front seat show a rain-splattered windshield. The realism in her work stems from a desire to invite the viewer to share the experience. The paintings reclaim the moment, explore its detail, and unearth its emotional content. They are about freezing and compressing time; then elongating and decelerating it.
They are also about water: from above, as in a rainstorm, or from below: as in a man-made sprinkler system. Her inspiration is triggered by the interplay of water and light together, and how it affects our perception of reality through reflection, distortion, and transformation.
BIOGRAPHY
Karen Woods was born in Seattle, WA, in 1963. She received her BFA from the California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA) in 1987 with additional studies at California Polytechnic State University and Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States with solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston, among others, and her work has been published in New American Paintings, American Art Collector, art ltd, Artweek, Western Art & Architecture, Fine Art Connoisseur, and the Idaho Statesmen. Woods’ paintings are included the public collections of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK, James Castle House, Boise, ID, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (acquisition), Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (acquisition), The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, Boise State University, Cary Street Partners LLC, Charlotte, NC, and the Boise Visual Chronicle as well as number private collections in the US and UK. Karen Woods lives and works in Boise, Idaho.
Woods is primarily and oil painter whose subject is a traveler’s view through the window of a moving vehicle. Often, though not always, these views from the front seat show a rain-splattered windshield. The realism in her work stems from a desire to invite the viewer to share the experience. The paintings reclaim the moment, explore its detail, and unearth its emotional content. They are about freezing and compressing time; then elongating and decelerating it.
They are also about water: from above, as in a rainstorm, or from below: as in a man-made sprinkler system. Her inspiration is triggered by the interplay of water and light together, and how it affects our perception of reality through reflection, distortion, and transformation.
BIOGRAPHY
Karen Woods was born in Seattle, WA, in 1963. She received her BFA from the California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA) in 1987 with additional studies at California Polytechnic State University and Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States with solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston, among others, and her work has been published in New American Paintings, American Art Collector, art ltd, Artweek, Western Art & Architecture, Fine Art Connoisseur, and the Idaho Statesmen. Woods’ paintings are included the public collections of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK, James Castle House, Boise, ID, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (acquisition), Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (acquisition), The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, Boise State University, Cary Street Partners LLC, Charlotte, NC, and the Boise Visual Chronicle as well as number private collections in the US and UK. Karen Woods lives and works in Boise, Idaho.
RESUME
Born 1963, Seattle, Washington
EDUCATION
B.F.A., California College of the Arts, Oakland, 1987
Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy, 1985
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1984
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Watermarks, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021 A Step Outside, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2019 Going, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Wilder Still, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2018 Land and Sea, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Karen Woods, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2016 The Way to Wilder, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2016 Karen Woods: New Work, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Shift, Stewart Gallery Boise, ID (catalogue)
2015 From Here, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 New York | New Work, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Driving Rain, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Exhibition and Artist Dialogue, Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Cityscapes, George Billis Gallery, Westport, CT
2021 Seascapes, George Billis Gallery, Westport, CT
2020 Farewell 2020, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2020 Spring, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2019 Art on Paper, New York, NY
2018 Wet, Quidley & Co. Fine Art, Naples, FL
2017 Urban/Suburban Memories, studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
2017 National Weather Center Biennale, Norman, OK (catalogue)
2015 Weather or Not, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2014 Catherine Christiano, Paul Schulenberg, Karen Woods, Art Essex Gallery, Essex, CT
2014 Industrial Beauty, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2014 In Good Company, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
2014 The Cityscape Show IV, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 New Ground, Surel’s Other Place, Garden City, ID
2013 Road Trip, Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
2013 Urban: The Art of Jan Boles, Charles Gill, Michael Miller, Karen Woods, Boise Art Museum
2013 In Good Company, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
2013 Art in Traffic, Visual Arts Collective, Garden City, ID
2013 Upon Reflection, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
REVIEWS & PUBLICATIONS
Kolpas, Norman, “Illuminations”, Western Art & Architecture, June/July 2021
Burk, Christopher, “The Passenger’s Perspective”, American Art Collector, October 2019
Belsito, Rochelle, “Cruise”, American Art Collector, June 2018
City-Journal (cover art), Autumn 2016 Issue, volume 26, No. 4
Oland, Dana, “Artistic Idaho”, Treasure Magazine, June 2016
Escudero, Nicki, “Rainy Days”, American Art Collector, February 2016
Carlson, Jeffrey, “Karen Woods Cityscapes” Fine Art Connoisseur, January 2014
Towne, Michelle, “Karen Woods and Christopher Stott”, American Art Collector, December 2013
Van Baelen, Leen, “Karen Woods” De Morgan, Belgium
Oland, Dana, “Reframing Boise’s Visual Language”, Idaho Statesman, July 19, 2013
New American Paintings, West edition, October 2013
O’Hern, John, “Final Fall”, American Art Collector, February 2013
Corriel, Michele, “Illuminations: Ones to Watch”, Western Art & Architecture, Summer/Fall 2010
Schnoor, Christopher, “Inside Looking Out at Stewart Gallery” art ltd, Jan/Feb 2010
Oland, Dana, “On the Road with Artist Karen Woods” Idaho Statesman, August 15, 2008
Berry, S.L., “Canopy”, Indianapolis Star, April 8, 2007
Schnoor, Christopher, “Fresh Visions: Kevan Smith and Karen Woods at Stewart Gallery” Boise Weekly, December 28, 2005
Pettinger, E.J., “Well-Cultivated: The Women’s Show at Stewart Gallery, Boise Weekly, May 19, 2004
Frost, Jim, “Branching Out: Karen Woods” Black Canyon Quarterly, Summer 2002
Schnoor, Christopher, “On the Horizon at Stewart Gallery”, Artweek, March 2000
SELECTED PROJECTS
2020 Bodleian Library Bookmaking Workshop, Oxford, UK, funded by the Alexa Rose Foundation Grant
2018 James Castle House Artist Pilot Resident, James Castle House, Boise, ID
2013 Commissioned artwork, Surviving Minidoka, The Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration, Boise
2013 State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, publisher.
2010 Commissioned artwork, Quintessential Boise, an Architectural Journey, Charles Hummel et al.
2010 Boise State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, publisher.
COLLECTIONS
Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
James Castle House, Boise, ID
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (acquisition)
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (acquisition)
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho
Boise State University
Cary Street Partners LLC, Charlotte, NC
Gary Bettis, Portland, OR
Driek and Michael Zirinsky, Boise, ID
Skip and Esther Oppenheimer, Boise, ID
Boise Visual Chronicle
EDUCATION
B.F.A., California College of the Arts, Oakland, 1987
Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy, 1985
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1984
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Watermarks, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021 A Step Outside, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2019 Going, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Wilder Still, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2018 Land and Sea, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Karen Woods, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2016 The Way to Wilder, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2016 Karen Woods: New Work, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Shift, Stewart Gallery Boise, ID (catalogue)
2015 From Here, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 New York | New Work, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Driving Rain, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Exhibition and Artist Dialogue, Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Cityscapes, George Billis Gallery, Westport, CT
2021 Seascapes, George Billis Gallery, Westport, CT
2020 Farewell 2020, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2020 Spring, Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID
2019 Art on Paper, New York, NY
2018 Wet, Quidley & Co. Fine Art, Naples, FL
2017 Urban/Suburban Memories, studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
2017 National Weather Center Biennale, Norman, OK (catalogue)
2015 Weather or Not, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2014 Catherine Christiano, Paul Schulenberg, Karen Woods, Art Essex Gallery, Essex, CT
2014 Industrial Beauty, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2014 In Good Company, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
2014 The Cityscape Show IV, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 New Ground, Surel’s Other Place, Garden City, ID
2013 Road Trip, Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
2013 Urban: The Art of Jan Boles, Charles Gill, Michael Miller, Karen Woods, Boise Art Museum
2013 In Good Company, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
2013 Art in Traffic, Visual Arts Collective, Garden City, ID
2013 Upon Reflection, Quidley & Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
REVIEWS & PUBLICATIONS
Kolpas, Norman, “Illuminations”, Western Art & Architecture, June/July 2021
Burk, Christopher, “The Passenger’s Perspective”, American Art Collector, October 2019
Belsito, Rochelle, “Cruise”, American Art Collector, June 2018
City-Journal (cover art), Autumn 2016 Issue, volume 26, No. 4
Oland, Dana, “Artistic Idaho”, Treasure Magazine, June 2016
Escudero, Nicki, “Rainy Days”, American Art Collector, February 2016
Carlson, Jeffrey, “Karen Woods Cityscapes” Fine Art Connoisseur, January 2014
Towne, Michelle, “Karen Woods and Christopher Stott”, American Art Collector, December 2013
Van Baelen, Leen, “Karen Woods” De Morgan, Belgium
Oland, Dana, “Reframing Boise’s Visual Language”, Idaho Statesman, July 19, 2013
New American Paintings, West edition, October 2013
O’Hern, John, “Final Fall”, American Art Collector, February 2013
Corriel, Michele, “Illuminations: Ones to Watch”, Western Art & Architecture, Summer/Fall 2010
Schnoor, Christopher, “Inside Looking Out at Stewart Gallery” art ltd, Jan/Feb 2010
Oland, Dana, “On the Road with Artist Karen Woods” Idaho Statesman, August 15, 2008
Berry, S.L., “Canopy”, Indianapolis Star, April 8, 2007
Schnoor, Christopher, “Fresh Visions: Kevan Smith and Karen Woods at Stewart Gallery” Boise Weekly, December 28, 2005
Pettinger, E.J., “Well-Cultivated: The Women’s Show at Stewart Gallery, Boise Weekly, May 19, 2004
Frost, Jim, “Branching Out: Karen Woods” Black Canyon Quarterly, Summer 2002
Schnoor, Christopher, “On the Horizon at Stewart Gallery”, Artweek, March 2000
SELECTED PROJECTS
2020 Bodleian Library Bookmaking Workshop, Oxford, UK, funded by the Alexa Rose Foundation Grant
2018 James Castle House Artist Pilot Resident, James Castle House, Boise, ID
2013 Commissioned artwork, Surviving Minidoka, The Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration, Boise
2013 State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, publisher.
2010 Commissioned artwork, Quintessential Boise, an Architectural Journey, Charles Hummel et al.
2010 Boise State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, publisher.
COLLECTIONS
Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
James Castle House, Boise, ID
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (acquisition)
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (acquisition)
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho
Boise State University
Cary Street Partners LLC, Charlotte, NC
Gary Bettis, Portland, OR
Driek and Michael Zirinsky, Boise, ID
Skip and Esther Oppenheimer, Boise, ID
Boise Visual Chronicle