Karen Moss' 'Off-Kilter' opens WSRC's 2013 schedule

New works by Boston artist tackle society’s ills with humor and fantasy

Karen Moss

Triptych: Have a Nice Day

The Women’s Studies Research Center kicks off its 2013 schedule with 'Off-Kiltera seductive and provocative exhibition of new mixed-media works by Boston artist Karen Moss on Jan. 22 at the Kniznick Gallery in the Women’s Studies Research Center and will run through March 22.

Not afraid of social commentary, Moss explores the roots of society’s problems using pop culture imagery, imaginative drawing and text, among other tools, which she employs with great dexterity and humor. Her inspirations often come from news items on eating disorders, youth violence, homelessness, consumerism and environmental devastation.

The work also questions traditional gender roles, depicting Barbie-like figures along with animals in high-fashion clothing pushing baby strollers carrying hybrid offspring through decimated landscapes. Nothing seems as it should; everything is tipped on its head. Using materials from camouflage fabric to tulle and techniques from ink drawing to collage, Moss’s experimental works critique the course we are on as a society and place us at the threshold of something either magnificent or devastating.

Karen Moss received a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For over 25 years, Moss taught drawing and painting in Massachusetts public schools, private schools, colleges and universities, including Wheelock College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Harvard University.  Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Graham Gund Collection, deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Boston Public Library, Vassar College Art Gallery, Rose Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

An artist reception will take place on Jan. 24 from 5-7:30 p.m.

The Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC) is a place where research, art and activism converge. Bringing together scholars, students and artists, the WSRC is a community that thrives on the sharing of knowledge and ideas. The WSRC is home to the Kniznick Gallery, which is committed to feminist exhibitions of artistic excellence that reflect the activities of the Women’s Studies Research Center Scholars and engage communities within and beyond Brandeis University.


Categories: Arts

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