KAREN HAWKINS

Austin artist KAREN HAWKINS surrounds herself with books—decommissioned ones,

pulled from shelves and discarded. Here she f inds the materials and inspiration for her

three-dimensional sculpted forms.

“In creating small and large-scale sculptures from the pages of [these] old, forgotten books,”

notes Chris Cowden (Executive Director, Women and Their Work), “Hawkins deconstructs

and re-purposes the meaning originally found there. The authority and signif icance of the

printed page—harkening back to the f irst mass printed book, the Gutenberg Bible—is

becoming obsolete in the digital age. In Hawkins’ work, the page assumes a dif ferent

role, becoming a vehicle for nostalgia conveyed through form. Her process (like reading)

illustrates the passage of time but meaning is perceived as visceral rather than cerebral.”

As viewers, we marvel at the transformation, the structural elements and the forms that

emerge. For Hawkins, though, it is the process that drives her artistic focus.

I begin by changing the book’s structure-folding, cutting and excavating it—and

rendering each page largely unreadable. Each book shape shifts into an object , not of

literature or science or history any longer, but an object of art . As the meaning of each

book is subjugated to [this] objectif ication process, a shifting beauty transpires, aside

from any language or text or etching held between the endpapers. I like seeing the type

transform, from a recognizable symbol to a simple visual mark, no longer referencing a

known cue, but introducing a new language. My work can only be created by absolute

perfection in repetition, and that appeals to me. There’s something very meditative to

me about this motion.

2832 E. MLK Jr., Blvd #3 Austin, TX 78702

512.454.6671 galleryshoalcreek.com

KAREN HAWKINS

Karen Hawkins received her BFA from the University of Texas under mentor Margo Sawyer. For her senior project, she created Withdrawn, a meditative installation which completely immersed a room with books that had been withdrawn from library circulation. She began exhibiting her work in 2009 and in 2010 was selected for a scholarship to participate in Ox Bow’s summer program. Hawkins is active in Austin’s visual arts community serving on the boards of several non-profit organizations.

Her work is in numerous private of collections, including:

Beverly Dale, Austin, Texas

Eloise & John Paul DeJoria, Austin, Texas

Tiffany & Christopher Krubert, Chicago, Illinois

Ragan & Mark Melton, Boulder, Colorado

Lisa & William Vanderweil, Boston, Massachusetts

David Honeycutt, Austin, Texas

Fern & Jerre Santini, Austin, Texas

Jannette & Patrick Keating, Austin, Texas

Museum Tower Condominiums, Dallas, Texas

Above: Un-Titled Red, book covers on panel, 24” x 36”Cover: Jellyrolls Installation, book pages, size variableInside: Totem Installation, decommissioned books, 8’, 9’, and 10’ totemsphotos by Paul Bardagjy