Throughout my life as a painter, the main focus of my work has been on landscapes.
I have traveled extensively within Australia and around the world, particularly to more remote regions, in an attempt to capture the physical world and our place in it.
My paintings reflect my travels, which over the past 12 years have included various regions in Australia and the Indian Subcontinent, New Zealand, Japan and the Austrian Alps, where I spent my childhood.
While initially commenting on the influence of the vast natural environment on people, my work has shifted towards exploring the impact of humans on these landscapes.
This theme is expressed subtly in my paintings, for example, by juxtaposing scenes of remote landscapes with a foreground fencepost or bush road.
Ideally in my role as a painter I try to begin each piece as a passive observer but by sharing my perception as the panting takes shape, I also communicate and comment on the environment that I see and how it affects me.
It is essential for me to work on site. I like to spend time researching local history and culture before I define the general topic of the series I am creating.
In this way I try to be authentic in capturing the nature of the region and its context globally and personally.
I have exhibited internationally for the
last 12 years, and my work is held in private collections in Austria,
Australia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, USA and
New Zealand.
Karen Standke - February 2011
SOLO
EXHIBITIONS
2010 All things must pass, Pivotal galleries, Melbourne
2009 Far away so close, Pivotal galleries, Melbourne
2009 Art Auction at the SRC, Melbourne
2008 …where the heart is, Pivotal galleries, Melbourne
2008 Berg-geist (Mountain-Spirit), Altes Kino, Ehrwald, Austria
2007 Alternate Routes, Yering Station, Victoria
2006 New paintings, Pivotal galleries, Melbourne
2006 Recent work, Walrus Gallery, Wellington, NZ
2006 Mangotipi, Lush Gallery, Raumati, NZ
2005 Down South, Rise Café, Wellington, NZ
2005 Desert barcodes, Graphics Plus Gallery, St Alban’s, UK
2005 WA mate, Pivotal Galleries, Melbourne
2004 Felsensicht(Rockviews), Altes Kino, Ehrwald, Austria
2004 Feathers and stones, Graphics Plus Gallery, St Alban’s
2002 Recent work, Moran Gallery, Melbourne
2001 Show me where, Gallery 11, Melbourne
2000 Silicon Chips, JSG, Wellington NZ
2000 Talk to me, Vault Design Store, Christchurch NZ
2000 Poetry of Silence, Stone Art Collections, Wellington NZ
1999 Volcanoes and the paths of lava, Ohakune, NZ
1999 As far as you can see, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, NZ
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Camberwell Fine Art society show, Melbourne
2009 Melbourne Art fair, Melbourne
2009 Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2009 Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize, Substation, Williamstown
2009 Wetland Dreaming Exhibition, Mildura
2007 Chelsea international Fine Art Show, Agora Gallery, New York
2007 New days, Toyota Community Spirit Gallery, Port Melbourne
2007 Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2007 New work by represented artists, Pivotal Galleries, Melbourne
2005 Embark, Pivotal Galleries, Melbourne
2005 5 plus, Rise Café, Wellington
2005 A4 Annual Fundraiser, Westspace, Melbourne
2003 Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2003 We are all messengers, The Foundry, Melbourne
2003 A4 Annual Fundraiser, Westspace, Melbourne
2002 Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2002 Woomera Art Auction for Refugees, Gammaspace, Melbourne
2002 Stir, Gammaspace, Melbourne
2002 Asylum, Art Auction for Refugees, Dante’s Gallery, Melbourne
1999 Tareitanga Sculpture Symposium, Wellington, NZ
1999 Kaleidoscope, Shed 11, Wellington, NZ
1998 5 plus, Wellington, NZ
1998 5 plus 1, Wellington, NZ
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2011 Finalist for the Glover prize, Tasmania
2009 Finalist for the Prometheus Art Prize, Queensland
2008 Recipient of Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant
2008 Artist in Residency, Ehrwald, Austria
2007 Artist in Residency at the BAC, Bangalore, India
2006 Artist in Residency at Territory Craft, Araluen Arts Precinct, Alice
Springs, NT
2006 Artist in Residency at Arthur Boyd’s Bundanon, NSW
2004 Artist in Residency at the Zugspitzatelier, Ehrwald, Austria (self-funded)
KUPA PITI LANDSCAPE
II
MALLEE TREE SHADOW
PYRENEES LANDSCAPE
I
sold
TASMANIA LANDSCAPE IV
KUPA PITI LANDSCAPE I
GRASS STUDY
BLUE BUSH (triptych)