Karen Ghostlaw

Karen Ghostlaw is an BFA honor graduate of Pratt Institute with a concentration in Photography, Printmaking and Bookbinding. Karen was a Photography Scholarship recipient and published in "Newsweek On Campus" stating her work to be somewhere “Between Painting and Photography” which has become her life long study. Under the tutelage of William Gedney, Philip Perkis, Arthur Freed, Nina Prantis and Ann Mandelbaum, Karen studied 35mm and 4x5 large format photography, black and white, color, dye transfer, and emulsion processes including gum bichromate and platinum palladium. Karen also studied large scale printing, photo etching, photo silk screening and bookbinding handcrafted Polaroid accordion books, post-bound books and signature books with multi-layered hard covers.

In 2012, Karen expanded “Between Painting and Photography” through an in-depth examination of self-portraiture and reflectivity.  Layers of the environment with complexities of reflection and the added interest of self exploration led to many discoveries redefining Karen’s unique way of expression. This study culminated with the publication of two reflective self-portraits in "Leica Myself". This collection of self-portraits, curated by Rainer Schillings, was published in 2013 to celebrate the centennial of Leica Camera. These earlier works became the catalyst for what has become an ongoing exploration in reflection and herself. Karen’s Self-Portraits have been exhibited in the Women Street Photographers 2019, and 2020 NYC Exhibition, and the 2020 “Portraits” show at Praxis Gallery, 2021 Issue 07 Al-Tiba9 feature interview, and most recently in a narrative portrait exhibition with Artdoc Magazine, and contributing author to Fototeca Siracusana "Thinking the Future" exhibition.

Karen’s interest in the street reflections of New York City has become a primary inspiration for her work. Layers of architectural geometry, energy and movement found in the streets of Manhattan create new canvasses for painting with her camera. Self exploration is a consistent thread in Karen’s work, weaving herself into complex tapestries of urban environments, synthesizing various materials and reflectivity scenarios.  Karen’s extensive international travel has allowed her to expand the breadth of her Street Photography,  incorporating many different cities, resulting in a vast study of reflectivity and Street 

When New York was overcome by the Pandemic, Karen isolated in the Adirondack mountains of New York State.  Reflectivity, landscapes and a connection to nature inspired a fresh new look at “Between Painting and Photography.”  Having spent much of her youth in the North Country of New York, estuaries of the Adirondacks became brilliant watercolor pallets, and canvasses to create a series of new works blurring the boundaries of Painting and Photography.  All Karen’s images are single exposures,  defined through her keen abilities to use her lens and camera. A recent example of this work was featured in both the 2020 “Liquid Sky” Exhibition at Praxis Gallery and the Davis Orton Gallery Annual Show.

With the onset of the Pandemic and the closing of cities and restrictions on travel Karen found new focus, finding equilibrium between urban and rural, clarity and abstraction, color and light, and always finding her place in between those layers. Recent travel to London inspired a new wave of street photography, but also necessitated a period of quarantine and another exploration in nature and the colors of Autumn, only to be followed by a coming out for her first shoot in New York City.  Karen chooses not to see challenges, but opportunities to rediscover familiar landscapes with new ideas and vision, a unique balance between real, abstraction, and reflectivity, expanding her ongoing exploration in “Between Painting and Photography”.

Recent Shows, Commissions and Publications: