Karen Gorst
http://www.manuscriptarts.net/karen-home.htm
ARTIST STATEMENT & EXHIBITS
I have an intense love of materials: where they come from, how they are made and what their unique
working properties are. This love of working processes combines with an unquenchable thirst for
knowing everything about a subject. Calligraphy and manuscript illumination speak directly to that part
of me. No matter how much I learn, there is always more to explore. My specialty, the medieval book
arts, covers a broad range of highly developed skills: calligraphy and hand lettering, bookbinding,
making and using all kinds of papers, understanding parchment, making paints and inks from medieval
recipes, traditional images used in illuminated manuscripts rich in meaning, and book binding
techniques.
There are two distinct aspects of my work: the commercial and the purely artistic.
All the technical information that I've learned comes into play in this exciting arena.
My commercial clients include Coach, Time Magazine, DBM Worldwide, Health Communications,
American Heart Association. They come to me for reliable high quality, creativity and versatility. They
know that I meet deadlines. The commercial projects range from simply designing and filling-in
certificates, to making 150 hand bound books, to designing 3-D stackable fabricated letters for
worldwide distribution. My work for individuals ranges from designing invitations and addressing
envelopes, to illuminating wedding vows and making one of a kind hand written, illustrated and handbound books.
The purely artistic work includes one of a kind illuminations and illuminated books. My images are
grounded in the rich medieval tradition of mysticism made visible. All plants, animals, shapes,
numbers and people had meanings assigned to them. You could see the picture and you could see the
deeper meanings accessible to only the trained eye. It is in this venue that I explore the nature of JudeoChristian mysticism. I reconnect to my culture with a deeper understanding of what it means to be an
artist. The images and materials imbued with symbolic meaning are joined to create the whole
message- the mystical union of God and human.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2000
April "Illuminations: Books and Pages" White Plains Public Library, White Plains, NY "
1997
December-February "Illuminated Books" Greenwich Public Library, Greenwich, CT
November-January "Medieval Color, Calligraphy's Heritage" St. John's University Library, Queens,
NY
1996
November-December "Making Illuminated Manuscripts" St. John's University Library, Queens, NY
January "Divine Gifts" Madeleine Gutman Gallery, Elmsford, NY
1985
October "Handmade Books" Young & Rubicam Gallery, NYC
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2003
April "Out of the Box", Society of Scribes, Donnell Library, NYC
2002
October Juried Exhibition, New Rochelle Art Association, New Rochelle Public Library
April "Courage", Society of Scribes, Donnell Library, NYC
2001
December-February Invitational, "The Art of Illumination; Med. to Modern "Manhattanville College
Library, Purchase, NY
October "Not Just Another Pretty Letter", Jefferson Market Library, NYC
2001
June-July Faculty Art Show, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
March Faculty Exhibition, Center for Book Arts, NYC
April "The Color of Blue", Society of Scribes, Donnell Library, NYC
2000
June-October "NY in France", D. Calvert Enluminures Medievales, Noyers sur Serein, France
October-November Invitational Exhibit, Artist & Lettering Arts:20th Century American Calligraphy",
AIGA Gallery, NYC
September Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Papermill, SOHO, NY
September Faculty Exhibition, Center for Book Arts, NYC
1999
April "Day of the Handmade Book", South Bend Regional Museum, Indiana
June Faculty Art Show, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
March International Miniature Print Exhibition, Juried, Graphic Arts Center, Norwalk, CT
January-June "Medieval Thoughts", D. Calvert Enluminures Medievales, Noyers sur Serein, France
January Faculty Art Show, Rowayton Art Center, Rowayton, CT.
January Watercolors, Rowayton Art Center, Rowayton, CT
1998
December-January Illuminations, Panacea Books, Port Chester, NY
December Invitational Exhibit, Atlantic Gallery, SOHO, NY
November-December Holiday Show, Rowayton Art Center, Rowayton, CT
October-November Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Papermill, SOHO, NY
October Juried Exhibit: Mavis Fenner Memorial Show, Rowayton Art Center, CT.
September Faculty Art Show, Rowayton Art Center, Rowayton, CT.
August-December Three Illuminators, D. Calvert Enluminures Medievales, Noyers sur Serein, France
1997
December Illuminations, Panacea Books, Port Chester, NY
December Invitational Exhibit, Atlantic Gallery, SOHO, NY
October-November Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Papermill, SOHO, NY
August Faculty Art Show, Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
February Faculty Show-Center for Continuing Ed, Larchmont Public Library, NY
1996
December Student/Faculty Exhibit: The Gabriel Guild, Miranda Arts, Port Chester, NY
December Invitational Exhibit, Atlantic Gallery, SOHO, NY
November Alumni Exhibition: Small Works, Cooper Union, NYC
November Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Papermill, SOHO, NY
February Juried Exhibit: Small Works, 80 Washington Square East Galleries, NYU
1995
December-January Opening Exhibit, National Museum for Catholic Art and History, NYC
November Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Papermill, SOHO, NY
October Festival of the Arts, Catholic Artists Guild, Monroe, NY
1994
December Invitational Exhibit, Atlantic Gallery, SOHO, NY
November Invitational Exhibit, Dieu Donne Gallery, SOHO, NY
1993
December Invitational Exhibit, Atlantic Gallery, SOHO, NY
September Invitational Exhibit, "East Meets West", Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
September The Gabriel Guild Exhibition, Cloister Gallery, Houston, TX.
July The Gabriel Guild Exhibition, Graphic Pleasures Gallery, Larchmont, NY
1992
December Sacred Art Exhibition, World Wide Art Gallery, NYC
1990
March Vatican Council Conference on Art & the Sacred, Fordham University, NYC
1989
May Sacred Arts Conference, Santa Fe, NM
1988
May Sacred Art Exhibition, World Council of Churches Interfaith Center, NYC
1987
October "Love Letters" A's Studio, SOHO, NY
1986
August International Calligraphy Conference, Stevens Institute, Hoboken, NJ
June "AE: Bla Bla Bla" Bruckner Haus Linz, Austria
1985
December Invitational Exhibit, A's Studio, SOHO, NY
1985 to 1992
Summer & Winter Faculty/Student Exhibitions, School of Sacred Art, NYC