KAREN SAFER

ARTIST BIO

Karen Safer, a native Angelino, is an internationally exhibited, award-winning photographic artist and poet. Her passion for art began when given camera & crayons at 3 and immersed in California’s visual language. A lifelong traveler, she has explored over 230+ countries/territories, embracing both the exotic and unexpected. Influenced by her father’s black-and-white photography and her mother’s insatiable curiosity for knowledge and travel, her inspirations range from ancient Assyria to conceptual works of Cindy Sherman. She began as a painter before focusing on photography in college, earned a master’s degree in art (UCLA & CSULB) and has a professional career in design and architecture. With 14 solo exhibitions and participation in over 710 shows, she has received more than 610+ awards, including 1st Pl Julia M Cameron Award, PISPA, TIFA, reFocus, CEV & DecAgon 1st Pl, Exposure One, etc. Her work has been featured in 180+ publications, such as LENS, Dodho, ArtTalk, ArtTour, Docu, One Eyeland, Spotlight, Visual Poetry Journal, etc. She has exhibited worldwide, even alongside Jackson Pollock in a group exhibit in Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and continuously in London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Prague, Venice, Florence, Barcelona, Budapest, Dubai, Mexico, São Paulo, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Zurich, New York to Los Angeles, etc. Her work is held in numerous collections, and she is a member of many organizations, including LAAA-825 Gallery (monthly exhibitions), LACP, IAA-USA, APA-LA, CA Art League, LACMA, MOCA, etc. A self-described "romantic old soul" with intellectual cravings, she navigates the digital world while connected to art’s timeless essence. She embraces color but venerates black & white – realistic & abstract.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a “romantic old soul” with intellectual cravings now living in a Digital World.

I am a 5th generation native Angelino, a photographic artist and poet with a musical bent who was born and lives at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and works with a camera to capture imagery that hopefully realizes my view of the universe. I’ve traveled to over 230 countries/territories, wandering the world to discover that "something" that catches or pleases my eye. My passion is capturing imagery.

We live in a world of shadows and patterns, the stuff that photography is made of. The images I have chosen here are from my monochrome, black and white, and/or shadow series. The focus is ethereal, dreamlike or dark. I am also an “informavore” who feeds on information and thoughts erupting like volcanoes in my head in word or image form. I scout the world for images as they present themselves to me - seeking light, shape, line, shadow, color or something unique.

I am a long-time photographer who has seen a lot and experienced the world through my lens, going from film to digital, who has traveled across most of the planet’s surface, and still, I come back to basic, straightforward images. I’ve experimented with more cutting-edge and au courant techniques, but I seem to go back to my first orientation to the language of photography, which was inspired by the masters (Atget, Bresson, Bravo, etc.) - simple, light-inspired, straightforward views. I don’t label myself a particular type of photographer - undefinable by category or genre; I am just a picture taker who snaps what appeals to my eye. A Story Taker!

I am a student of the universe, inspired by everything from the ancients to the moderns, constantly observing and learning.

"A photographer has the whole world, big or small, to capture." k safer
“Wherever I am is my favorite place in the world.” k safer