Meet Karen Kraven

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen Kraven and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When I was just starting out, I had endless energy and ambition. I was motivated by a belief that hard work and long hours would pay off. It was really a go, go, go pace, with very little rest or time off and it was working, until it wasn’t. After the unexpected passing of my father several years ago, I experienced severe burnout.
To recover, I had to change my relationship to my work. I had to learn how to pause and slow down. I had to listen to my body. I had reconsider my motivations.

I started going to my studio to heal instead of produce. I focused on making the studio space more comfortable and beautiful, not just efficient.

I think about balance as the inner work that needs to be done so that the art work can be about curiousity and not knowing.
Balance is making the time to feel grounded.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Through sculpture, installation and photography, my work is influenced by my familial background in fashion and textiles. My father and my grandfather owned a small knitwear factory and my mother studied fashion design. Through deconstructing clothing making and wearing, my work explores the vulnerabilities and potential of the body through exertion, work, loss and grief. I use found fabrics and offcuts from the garment industry as well as materials like wood, bronze and metal to make my sculptures. My photography often plays with optical illusion by photographing fabric in ways that it reveals moiré or movement of fabrics made for furniture, tarps, drapery, athletics or lingerie.

I’m really excited about when the material leads me to somewhere unexpected, for example I am currently working on some new sculptures in wood that look like a cross between collapsed umbrellas and large, unfurled flowers. It was the shape of the fabric scraps that made me think of flower petals and while building a structure to hold the petals together, an umbrella-like mechanism emerged.

Sometimes, I’m surprised by where I am today, even though I still have a long way to go to reach my goals. It has not been easy and I’m very grateful. Having people around you who believe in what you are doing really helps through the periods of doubt.

My story is about the process making itself, how do we recover and repair ourselves? How can we reject narratives of productivity in order to grapple with what we see when we arrive where we are at?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Montreal.

Itinerary:
Coffee at Ferlucci
Croissants at Pain Dans Les Voiles
Hike up the mountain to the Chalet lookout over the city.
Smoked Meat sandwiches at Schwartz’s.
Gallery Tour: Foundation Phi, Darling Foundry, Vox, Galerie Eli Kerr, Galerie Nicolas Robert
Natural Wine and Boquerones at Tinc Set.
Live Music at Casa del Popolo
Late Night Bagels at St. Viateur Bagel
Vintage shopping at The Little Shop
Bota Bota spa at sunset looking at the Montreal skyline and river.
Dosa and Kulfi in Parc Extension.
Riding bikes on the 100’s of km of divided bike lanes. (divided by concrete curbs, parked cars and gardens, not just lines on the road.)
A long, slow dinner at L’Express.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to my Mom, my biggest fan, who whole heartedly encouraged my artistic journey from the beginning. She attended the Ontario College of Art and Design (now OCAD University) in Toronto in the 1960s, and she convinced me to apply. Whenever I was feeling unsure of myself, she would help me reframe. She passed away last year and I miss her deeply.

I also owe a big shoutout to Caroline Andrieux, the founder of the Darling Foundry in Montreal (https://fonderiedarling.org/en/mandate) , a non-profit space for exhibitions, production and residencies where I was awarded a three year residency with a massive studio (another shoutout to Jeanie Riddle and Dale and Nick Tedeschi for the support) and met dozens of incredible curators, collectors and artists who passed through. I created some of my biggest exhibitions and milestones in that space.

Website: www.karenkraven.com 

Instagram: @karenkraven

Image Credits
Dean Baldwin lew, Blaine Campbell, John Healey, Maxime Brouillet Tony Hafkenscheid and artist’s archives.