Karen Curry

Since the mid 1990's I have periodically returned to the exploration of representations of skeletal hulls. During my travels I am drawn to the powerful forms of these traditional skin covered, wood framed boats. It is my practice as an artist to photograph the boats on location and then return to my studio to paint and work with these elemental structures.

Skeletal boat hulls share much with other subject matter that I have explored over the past several years in my work as a painter, I have been occupied with exploring and depicting objects and structures made by humans from organic materials. These objects are primarily objects of containment - images of vessels, boats, breakwaters, urns, grinding stones. The objects depicted are either in the process of construction or in the process of eroding, being taken back by nature.


My method of painting is intimately related to erosion and excavation. The paintings are mixed media (primarily acrylic) on wood panel, the technique one of layering and glazing then sanding and scraping to reveal the pigments and texture trapped beneath the surface.