about KB
film by joshua edwards. brooklyn. 2021
(B. 1999 New York)
New York based visual artist Karen Blandon is a first generation graduate from Parsons School of Design where she obtained her BFA (Painting, 2021). Karen has been published in Studio Visit Magazine and has been a part of multiple group shows around New York City. bio
Discomfort breeds innovation.
Inspired by the surrealist movement and concepts of magical realism, my work explores the depths of human emotion and experience through exaggerated iconography and fantastical landscapes. These visual elements serve as a tribute to those who have, like myself, learned to embrace the uncomfortable, the unknown, and the foreign.
Each piece is an invitation to engage with the rawness of emotion—wrath, confusion, lust, love—distilled into forms and symbols that transcend the ordinary. I aim to create a space where viewers can confront these emotions, allow them to resonate, and ultimately find meaning in their intensity.
My work is both an expression and documentation of personal struggle and a universal invitation to feel, to transform, and to find beauty in the complexity of our emotional landscapes.
artist statement
Education
Parsons School of Design
B.F.A., Painting, May 2021
Licensed/ certified
Building a mission driven creative business, Parsons entrepreneur academy, april 2022.
How to Manage your money and create a budget, Parsons entrepreneur academy, april 2022.
Group Shows
2025 Brooklyn Art Cave, “Portals of Love,” Brooklyn, NY.
2024 The living gallery, “Raíces Fluida, fluid roots”, Brooklyn, NY.
2021 Art 52nd Street, “International Online Exhibition,” Digital.
2021 Anna Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, “Return To The Real,” New York City, NY.
2019 “Mixllenials Present-a Mi Quinceanera” New York City, NY.
2019 El Sótano, “Cuir Revoluciones,” Brooklyn, NY.
2019 Greenpoint Gallery, “Group Show,” Brooklyn, NY.
2018 One Eyed Studios, “Treasures and Demons of the Female Body,” Brooklyn, NY.
Exhibitions Curated
2024 The living gallery, “Raíces Fluida, Fluid Roots”, Brooklyn, NY.
Lectures, Presentations, Workshops
2024 The living gallery, “Feeding your creative roots”, Brooklyn, NY.
2022 Gowanus Gallery By Larisa, “RENAISSANCE bondage figure drawing”, Brooklyn NY.
Publications And Media
“Volume 50.” Studio Visit Magazine. 2022.
“Parsons Fine Arts 2021 Thesis Exhibition.” Parsons School of Design. May 2021
Public Collections
“Mural in honor of Anna M. Lytton” Group Project. Springs School. East Hampton, NY. USA. Donated 2015.
Interviews
"The Return of the Real" BFA Fine Arts '21 Thesis Exhibition, Interview, 2021. New York, NY.
artist cv
