The relationship of matter and spirit is at the heart of my work. The physicality of the earth is tangible and real. Another dimension is indelibly linked to that materiality, one that is experienced though it cannot be measured or delineated. That elusive relationship between matter and spirit has been explored extensively in verbal form — poetry, philosophy, metaphysics — and those texts are essential touchstones in my work.

Finding forms to translate that awareness into visual language is an essential commitment in my work.I use fluid media — watercolor, thinned oil paint, mica. These layered surfaces are luminous and subtle. This way of working demands that I step back from my intentionality and trust the process, giving voice to the materials I am using. I incorporate gilding with precious metals as a way of adding to the “other worldly” quality I am seeking.

The language of form in these paintings connects the dots to the spiritual realm through the energy of all things physical. Energy is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual. Light, particularly, calls

our senses to the presence of that which is metaphysical. This work is making space for the voice of spirit.

KAREN FITZGERALD
January 2026 ©

Karen Fitzgerald earned a B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee in 1979 and soon after debuted her first solo exhibition (1980). In that same year her work was exhibited at The Madison Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum and Rahr-West Museum. She went on to earn a M.F.A from Hunter College in 1985. In 1990, she earned a M.Ed. from Columbia University.

Fitzgerald has had 23 solo, 11 two-person, and countless group exhibitions along with collaborations with contemporary composers. She has curated over 25 exhibitions in the NYC area.

Fitzgerald’s artwork has been featured at The Queens Museum of Art (1995), the United Nations in NYC (1997), Islip Art Museum (2000), Hammond Museum (2017), Fort Wayne Museum of Art (2023). It is in the permanent collections of the Spencer collection of the New York Public Library, Montefiore Hospital collection, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center collection, NYU Langone Medical Center collection, the Rienhart collection of Germany and Haslla Art World Museum, South Korea. It is housed in the permanent collections of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the Special Collections Libraries of Princeton, Berkeley, UW-Milwaukee, and William & Mary, and many other public and private collections.

Fitzgerald has completed commissioned work with CITYarts (2003 and 2023, 2024), Public Art for Public Schools (2005), The Related Group, Inc. (2013), and Memorial Sloan Kebering Cancer Center (2015).
Throughout her career, Fitzgerald’s work has been featured in well-respected publications, including Interalia, Monk Magazine, Porter House Review, and The New York Times.