Exhibition Dates: June 13 – July 18, 2025

Associated Events

Opening Reception.  Friday, June 13, 6 pm – 8 pm. Includes cash bar and light refreshments.

Artist Talk. Sunday, July 13, 1 pm.

EXHIBITION SUMMARY

In the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts’ upcoming exhibition Verdant, artist Karen Azarnia depicts images of plants and ferns that recall memories of home.  The artist’s images are meant to be lush and generous – to inspire pleasure, renewal, and resilience – as an act of generosity and care towards the viewer.  For Azarnia, the meditative rhythms found in nature, the human experience, and painting are full of complexity, often contain paradox, and at the same time hold the potential to locate wonder. The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, June 13, at 6 pm. The artist will give a talk on her work on Sunday, July 13, at 1 pm. Gallery events are free and open to the public.

ARTIST BIO:
Karen Azarnia is an artist, educator, and independent curator.  Born in Miami, FL she currently lives and works in Chicago. She has exhibited nationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including recently at Yale Institute of Sacred Music (New Haven, CT), Alma Gallery (Chicago, IL), Riverside Arts Center (Riverside, IL), and Geneva Center for the Arts (Geneva, IL).  Azarnia is a grant recipient from the Illinois Arts Council, Chicago DCASE, and the 3Arts Foundation.  Her work has been included in publications including Hyperallergic, the Chicago Tribune, Newcity, and the Huffington Post.  She received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Azarnia currently teaches in the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was awarded the Nick and Keven Wilder Award for excellence in teaching.