K A R E N S C H I F F was born in New Haven, Connecticut, where she attended art school during her first two years of high school. She then undertook literary studies and attended Brown University (A.B. in Comparative Literature and A.M. in English, 1989). After spending three years in Colorado, she returned to graduate school in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory (University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D., 1998), where she studied the visual composition of novels. She worked for five years as an English professor, then returned to art school for an M.F.A. (School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2006).
In the past year, Karen has had artworks shown in two museum exhibitions, and she participated in the 11th National Drawing Invitational at the Arkansas Arts Center, "New York: Singular Drawings." She also completed residencies at Yaddo (Saratoga Springs, NY, 2012), the Wurlitzer Foundation (Taos, NM, 2012), and Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass Village, CO, 2011).
Recently, she has shown projects at Danese Gallery (New York, 2010: Belles Heures), Jason Rulnick Gallery (New York, 2007: Laid Line Drawings), and Waypoint Gallery (Marfa, 2006: Agnes Martin Obituary Project). Last year she created a solo exhibition of collage-paintings (and an installation) made from hospital gowns, at a community college in Rhode Island. Individual pieces have been exhibited at other museums and galleries in the U.S. and in Spain. Her artworks have won prizes in group exhibitions, and pieces are held in public and private collections in the U.S. and in Europe.
Karen's occasional writings on art are available online at <bigredandshiny.com>, The Brooklyn Rail, and through the College Art Association. She lives in New York City, and her studio is in Brooklyn.
