Caitlin Karolczak

"I explore a number of themes in my work that are connected to the fragility of the human body and mind. My source imagery often comes from my collection of vintage medical and memorial photography. These photographs blur the line between artistic portraiture and medical illustration. In many cases the photographers deliberately and artfully arrange their subjects, at the same time documenting debilitating medical conditions and death. My paintings also wrestle with the intersection of beauty and distress. I incorporate painting techniques from many eras, both classical and modern; intertwining meticulously detailed renderings with abstract backgrounds and other unfinished representational details. I often use vintage and recycled material, collecting everything from antique textiles and paper, to vials of powdered pigments and oils. The past lives of these materials offer additional texture to my artistic process.

Caitlin Karolczak was born 1984 on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota.

She currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she works as a

professional artist and co-gallery owner of Spinario Design. She has shown

internationally and her work can be found in private and public collections

world wide including the Midwest, New York, Atlanta, CA, London, South

America and Israel"

Catlin Karolczak

karo0019@umn.edu