Karen Kunc

Karen Kunc, (b. in Omaha, Nebraska in 1952), is a printmaker and book artist whose artwork utilizes, augments, and distorts symbols of nature. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received her BFA in 1975. Her work examines the colors, shapes, and forms of both the natural and artificial landscapes present within our society. Ultimately, she abstracts the visual motifs of both worlds within her art, providing insight into each one and the interaction between them. Her art books, prints, and other artistic ventures have achieved vast critical acclaim nationally and internationally, and her impact within the art world is notable.

Early life and education
Karen Kunc was born in 1952 in Omaha, Nebraska. She studied and received her Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After completing her undergraduate education she went on to receive her Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) at the University of Ohio.

Career
Karen Kunc’s work has been featured in over 350 exhibitions, nationally and internationally, over the course of her career. She has been the recipient of numerous, prominent awards which include: the 2000 Governor’s Art Award, the 2007 Printmaker Emeritus award from the Southern Graphics Council, the Fulbright scholar awards to Finland and Bangladesh, National Endowment for the Arts awards, the 2016 Lincoln Mayor’s Art Award, a Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Master Award, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, and many more. In addition to her awards and exhibitions, she has achieved a fruitful career within academia as a Professor of the arts. In 1978, she became an Instructor of printmaking at Columbus College of Art and Design. She later returned to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1985, and continues to work there as a Professor of Arts to this day.

Art
Karen Kunc’s work has been critically acclaimed worldwide, her printmaking and bookmaking feature groundbreaking techniques in both mediums. Karen Kunc focuses the conceptual aspects of her artwork on the interactions between humans and the environment. She abstracts the colors, shapes, forms, and idioms of that interaction. The result is a vast array of textures, colors, and compositions that tell a complex narrative of the environment. Her art is also frequently reviewed and covered by publications and media outlets.

Her technique involves many printmaking methods, like woodcut, to achieve the abstracted look typically associated with her artwork. One piece that utilizes this relief method is Coral Sanctuary , which was created in 2017. The stunning reds, oranges, and blues used to highlight and differentiate the shapes within the composition speak to her skill as an artist.

Solo exhibitions (selected)

 * Sanctuaries of Invention: New Relief Prints by Karen Kunc, Soeffker Gallery, Hamline University, St. Paul, MN, 2021
 * Karen Kunc Prints, Galerija Art 55, Nis, Serbia, 2019
 * Weather: Prints & Books by Karen Kunc, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN 2019
 * Invisible Cities, Artists Books & Prints, Palazzo Ca' Zenobio, Amor del Libro, Venice, Italy, 2018
 * Karen Kunc: Artists Books, Charno Gallery, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO 2018
 * Volumina Project, Constellation Studios, Lincoln, NE 2018
 * Picturing This: Prints & Booksby Karen Kunc, Asheville Bookworks, Asheville, NY 2017
 * Transforming Worlds: The Woodcut Prints of Karen Kunc, Rall Gallery, Doane University, Crete, NE 2017
 * Karen Kunc: From the Sketch to the Block, Salon Cultural San Miguel, Arcos de la Frontera, Spain, 2017
 * Waves of Riches, ArtSpace, Oklahoma City, OK 2017
 * Into the Deep, Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, MO 2016-17
 * Drawing into Print, Constellation Studios, Lincoln, NE 2017
 * Open Studio Treasures, Constellation Studios, Lincoln, NE 2015 - 16
 * Of Process: Drawings, Blocks, Prints, Constellation Studios, Lincoln,NE 2014
 * Elusive matter:  The Prints & Artist Books of Karen Kunc, Stalder Art Gallery, Falls City, NE 2013
 * Karen Kunc, Prints & Book Arts, Gallery 101, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, 2013
 * The Immeasurable, Anderson Obrien Gallery, Old Market, Omaha, 2012
 * The Nature of Abstraction, Alexandre Hogue Art Gallery, University of Tulsa, OK 2011
 * The Immeasurable: Recent Prints of Karen Kunc, Art Gallery, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, 2012
 * An Eden, Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 2011
 * Karen Kunc/Blue Heron Press Artist Books and the BHP Collection, Eagle Fine Arts Gallery, Murray State University, Kentucky, 2010
 * Cola Pasta Gallery, Seoul, Korea, 2010
 * Printed-ness, Beard Gallery, Wheaton College, Norton, MA, 2010
 * Sense of Place, Art Zone Gallery, Cairo, Egyp t, 2010
 * Kaiku Gallery, Finnish Academy of Fine Art, Helsinki, 2009
 * Order, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA, 2009
 * Volumina, Tugboat Gallery, Lincoln, NE, 2009
 * Printed-ness, Fairbanks Gallery, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 2009
 * Minia University, Faculty of Fine Art, El Minia, Egypt, 2008
 * Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, Ohio, 2008
 * The Indeterminate Edge: Karen Kunc (with Annu Vertanen), Ruffin Gallery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 2008
 * Visualizing the Urban/Rural Divide, Malaspina Printmakers Society Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2008
 * Emily B. Davis Gallery, University of Akron, Ohio, 2008
 * Sensory Source, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, Nebraska, 2007
 * Journey, Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, 2007
 * Walter Gropius Master Artist Series, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia, 2007
 * Lyrical Legacy: The Prints of Karen Kunc, Leedy Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO, 2007
 * Piano Nobile Gallery, Rynek Glowny, Krakow, Poland, 2006
 * Galerie d'Art Contemporain, Chamalieres, France, 2006
 * Salo Art Museum, Salo, Finland, 2006
 * Recent Prints, Kathy Carraccio Print Studio, New York, NY, 2005
 * Featured Artist Project, The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, 2005
 * The Downtown Gallery, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 2006
 * Fine Arts Center Gallery, Augusta State University, Georgia, 2006
 * Northern Kentucky University, Fine Arts Center, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 2006
 * Visionary Evidence, Contemporary Print and Drawing Center, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA, 2005
 * Abercrombie Art Gallery, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA, 2005
 * Prints, Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy, 2005
 * Recent Prints, Kathy Caraccio Print Studio, New York, NY, 2005
 * Featured Artist Project, The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, 2005
 * SNAP Gallery, Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2004


 * Artists Book Works, Chicago, Illinois, 1990
 * Frontispiece, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, 1989
 * The Ohio Series, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio 1983

Awards and honors

 * UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Art Alumni Achievement Award, 2019
 * Second Prize, Printmaking Section, 2nd Novosibirsk Triennial, Russia, 2018
 * Honorable Mention Award, Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition X, BIMPE, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2018
 * Honorable Mention Award, First International Print Biennale, Yerevan, Armenia, 2017
 * Sponsor's Prize, Hida-Takayama International Contemporary Woodblock Prints Triennial, Takayama, Japan, 2017
 * Second Prize, Book as Art 5.0, Illuminated, Decatur Art Alliance, Decatur, GA, 2017
 * UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts award for Outstanding Outreach, Engagement, Service, 2017
 * Boston Printmaker's Member Emeritus Award, 2017
 * Mayor's Arts Award, Visual Artist Achievement, Lincoln, NE 2016
 * Honorary Degree, Doane College, Crete, NE, 2016
 * Juror's Award, Beyond the Norn, Illinois State University, 2016
 * Honorable Mention, Abstract National, Mark Art Center, Wichita, KS, 2016
 * Prix de Print, essay and feature in Art in Print Journal, juried by David Story, July-Aug, 2015
 * UNL Hixson Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Distinguished Teaching award, 2015
 * Fulbright Specialist Award, for teaching at Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University, Bangladesh, 2013
 * Preservation Award for Constellation Studios, Preservation Association of Lincoln, 2013
 * Best of Show Award, Art of the Book 2013, Endeavor Art Gallery, Calgary, Canada & tour
 * Juror's Award, Un-Speak-able, Book Art Exhibition, The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR, 2011
 * Hixson-Lied Senior Faculty Research/Creativity Award, UNL College of Fine and Performing Arts, 2010
 * Honorable Mention Award, The Assignment: National Juried Artist Book Exhibition, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR, 2010
 * Fulbright Specialists Roster, 5 year term, 2009 – 2013
 * Fulbright Specialist Grant, for teaching and exhibition, Finnish Academy of Fine Art, 2009
 * Purchase Prize, 2nd Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Thailand, 2009
 * Leavin/Maynard Prize, 184th Annual Exhibition, National Academy Museum, NY, 2009
 * Boston Printmaker’s 60th Anniversary Prize, for acquisition to the Worcester Art Museum, 2009
 * Southern Graphics Council 'Printmaker Emeritus Award', 2007
 * Nebraska Masterpieces Project, Nebraska Arts Council, poster and study guide, 2006-07
 * Omaha Entertainment Awards, Visual Arts, 2006
 * Honor Award for Mirror of the Wood catalog, Nebraska Book Awards, 2005
 * Sally R. Bishop Master Faculty Fellowship, The Center for Book Arts, 2005
 * Prize of the Director of the State Museum, VII International Art Triennale Majdanek, Lublin, Poland, 2004
 * Willa Cather Professorship, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2003-present
 * 2nd Place Award, 6th Triennale Mondiale D'Estampes Petit Format, Chamalières, France, 2003
 * Lance Prize, 178th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design Museum, New York, 2003
 * Juror's Award, Boston Printmakers 2003 North American Print Exhibition, 2003
 * Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, Alpha Phi Chapter, UNL, 2002
 * UNL Humanities Center Annual Research and Creative Achievement Award, 2002
 * Honorary Chair, 2002 Nebraska Youth Art Month Celebration, Nebraska State Capitol, 2002
 * Juror's Special Mention, Pressed and Pulled X, Georgia College and State University, 2002
 * Purchase and Juror's Merit Award, 28th Bradley National Print and Drawing Exhibition, 2001
 * Fabriano Award of Distinction, Third Minnesota National Print Biennial, 2001
 * Nebraska 2000 Governor's Arts Award, Artist of the Year, 2000
 * Sponsor's Prize, 5th Sapporo International Print Biennale, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan, 2000
 * Purchase Award, Sixty Square Inches, National Print Exhibition, Purdue University, 2000
 * Best of Show, Impressions, Blandon Memorial Art Museum, Ft. Dodge, Iowa, 2000
 * University of Nebraska Alumni Achievement Award, 2000
 * Nebraska Art Teachers Association Higher Education Award, 1999-2000
 * Honorable Mention, 55th Juried Exhibition, Sioux City Art Center, Iowa, 1999
 * Purchase Award, Pressed & Pulled VIII National Juried Print Exhibition, Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, 1999
 * University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award, 1998
 * Fulbright Scholar Award, for research travel to Finland, spring, 1996
 * Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 1996
 * Purchase Award, 69th International Competition of Prints, the Print Club, Philadelphia, 1994
 * Purchase Award, the Cimmaron National Works on Paper, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 1995
 * Juror's Award, Off the Shelf: Books By Artists, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, Arizona, 1994
 * Best of Show, Prairie Light Arts Showcase, Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska, 1994
 * Prize of the Machida Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Intern'l Print Exhibition, Machida-Tokyo, 1993
 * Rembrandt Graphic Arts Award, 44th North American Print Exhibition, Boston Printmakers, 1993
 * Lincoln Arts Council Mayor's Arts Award Recipient, 1993
 * Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Master Award, 1992
 * Fellowship Award, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia, 1992
 * Juror's Award, 13th Annual Juried Art Show, Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas, 1992
 * Honorable Mention, Prairie Light Art Showcase, Museum of Nebraska Art, 1992
 * Purchase Award, Boston Printmakers 43rd Annual Exhibition, 1991
 * Middle Slovak National Committee Award, 11th International Biennale Exhibition of Woodcut in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia, 1990
 * Juror's Selection, Rising Paper Company Award, 42nd Boston Printmakers Exhibition, 1990
 * Juror's Merit Award, 22nd Bradley National Print and Drawing Exhibition, 1989
 * Purchase Award, California Prints 1988, Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, California, 1988
 * Purchase Award, University of Delaware Biennial Exhibition, 1988
 * Purchase Award, International Prints II Exhibition, Silvermine Guild Art Galleries, 1988
 * Strathmore Paper Co. Award, Boston Printmakers Exhibition, 1988
 * First Prize Award, Graphica Atlantica, Reykjavik, Iceland, 1987
 * Purchase Award, 62nd Annual Exhibition, The Print Club, Philadelphia, 1986
 * Featured Artist, Nebraska Arts Council Publicity Campaign Poster, 1986
 * Merit Award, Joslyn Biennial, Omaha, Nebraska, 1986
 * Purchase Award, 61st Annual Exhibition, The Print Club, Philadelphia, 1985
 * Purchase Award, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1985
 * Honorable Mention, 20th Bradley National, 1985
 * Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship, 1984
 * Award, Joslyn Biennial, Omaha, Nebraska, 1984
 * Award, Summer Art XI, Vermillion, S. Dakota, 1984
 * Purchase Award, Wayne State College, 1984
 * Honorable Mention, Kearney State College, 1984
 * Purchase Award, Sioux City Art Center, 1983
 * Purchase Award, 8th University of Dallas Invitational, 1983
 * Purchase Award, Minot State College, 1983
 * Purchase Award, University of Nebraska-Omaha, 1982
 * Individual Artists Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council, 1982
 * Award, Columbus Art League, 1980
 * Purchase Award, Columbus Art League, 1979
 * Award, Womensart, Artreach Gallery, Columbus, Ohio, 1978
 * Award, 19th National Greater Fall River Art Association, 1978
 * Purchase Award, 20th North Dakota National, Grand Forks, 1977
 * Purchase Award, Columbus Art League May Show, 1976