Discipline Category: Museums, Galleries and Heritage

I am  a multidisciplinary visual artist, educator and visual arts advocate. I live at Schist Lake in Northern Manitoba. I work out of a studio there and at the Northern Visual Arts Centre (NorVA) in Flin Flon, MB.

Artist Statement Karen Clark

I am thrilled by the idea that people making and appreciating art works share so much with one another. This sharing is important to inspire conversations that are necessary in Canada today.

I paint the landscape here in the Boreal forest from the vantage point of my kayak or canoe. The terrain here is edgy and sharp. This is my cup of tea.

Most recently I find  myself focused on the local mine processing site nestled next to us here in Flin Flon. It is a remarkable juxtaposition, over 600 hectares devoted to extraction, crushing , smelting, prepping ore and managing waste products from those mining processes.The working title, The Long GoodBye, refers to the boom and bust cycle common to mine based towns throughout the world.

Acknowledgement

My generation has seen the deconstruction of Canada’s colonial past. I follow the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the investigation of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls with a growing sense of horror and shame. Having my roots as a settler in this land, I have a shared sense of confusion and perplexity as to how we - settlers and Indigenous people - carry on together. As a result I find myself questioning my place in this landscape which is so fundamental to my sense of self.

𝘔𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,
𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦-𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵,
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵.