Those in the local arts community may know Green Bay artist Erin Karsten from seeing her work on display at a number of venues around the area — SAGE, The Art Garage and Lawton Gallery, to name a few — over the last few years, but it’s her background from before her artistic career began that influences the art she creates today.
“I was really interested in human rights issues, so I went to school for international relations and I got involved in labor unions doing union work and workers rights-type stuff,” Karsten said. “That’s what I currently still do while I go to school.”
Art has actually been a recent endeavor for Karsten, picking it up during COVID.
“I just recently started painting during the pandemic and it was really kind of therapeutic for me, in a sense, to have control over something and it’s really grown on me in recent years and has become something that I want to pursue further.”
With her paintings, Karsten keeps things fun and lighthearted with bright, eye-catching colors.
“Painting is one of the things that I do,” Karsten said. “Paintings such as “The Purple Cow” are typically done in gouache paint and ink. It’s kind of similar to watercolor but it’s more saturated, so the end result tends to be pretty colorful. I like to incorporate a lot of geometric designs and patterns and it’s kind of got a playful essence to it.”
With her photography, Karsten said her international relations background shines through, though she uses humor to keep the topics she covers more easily approachable for viewers.
“[My photography] is kind of a deviation from what ‘The Purple Cow’ is because ‘The Purple Cow’ is much more of a fun piece,” Karsten said. “A lot of my photography work specifically investigates sociopolitical issues, but it uses humor to do so. I try to use humor to invite the audience to have an open inquiry and dialogue so that it doesn’t shut down the conversation. I enjoy using humor, but I still like to approach some difficult topics in my art.”
Karsten’s passion for photography has grown so strong that she is pursuing a degree in it, with plans to go on and get a master’s degree as well.
“I’m taking classes at UW-Green Bay currently and I’m planning to make photography my emphasis in my studio arts degree,” Karsten said. “I’m actually planning to apply to master’s programs for photography when I graduate…At the 51st annual student exhibition at UW-Green Bay, I won best in show for some of my photography and that was something I never anticipated. It’s really given me the confidence to continue what I’m doing and it made me believe in myself that I could go on and get a master’s degree if I wanted to.”
Along her artistic journey, Karsten said getting involved with local organizations has been hugely beneficial.
“There are some local organizations that have been very helpful to me,” Karsten said. “SAGE is one of them… they kind of opened the door for me in exhibiting some of my work early on and were a really great resource for meeting other artists. The Art Garage has also been helpful — they do classes and have regular exhibitions that people can submit to at a reasonable cost. I think showing up to different events in the community and meeting other artists has really been critical for me to be able to share my art with others.”
To learn more about Karsten and her artwork, visit erinkarstenart.com.
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