KAREN PETERSEN

Karen Petersen was born and raised in the small town of Escanaba in the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her work is infused with the beauty, power, and solitude of her origins. Over the last several years she has been exploring the form of the horse in her sculpture and painting, reflecting on its mystery and romance, and investigating the spiritual and physical relationship between horses and humankind.

“With this series of bronzes” she says, “I have reached for pure form in depicting a sentient creature that exudes power, sensuousness, nobility, and sensitivity of spirit. I have attempted to portray animals that appear both ancient and modern, horses equally at home on the walls of a prehistoric cave or on the walls of a Madison Avenue gallery. These horses, though earthbound, are mysterious. They contemplate the universe and mirror the complexity of life.”

Karen Petersen earned her BSD from the University of Michigan and attended the Parsons School of Design where she studied under sculptor Chaim Gross, who was an important influence on her work. She also studied at Central Connecticut College and the University of Rhode Island. Her teaching experience includes over twenty years at the Hartford College for Women where she also was director of the Butterworth Gallery. She has had numerous one person shows, has been included in many juried and invited exhibits, has served as a consultant to museums and a juror for exhibitions, and has been the recipient of fellowships, awards and commissions. Her work is included in many corporate and private collections, both in the United States and abroad. Petersen’s sculpture is cast in New York, Rhode Island, and in the Kingdom of Thailand.

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