By Karen van de Vliet
87 x 60 cm, 2023
mixed acrylic paint on cotton

Moving away from line and figurative art, Karen van de Vliet developed a new approach to her work that aims to embrace an imperfect beauty. By working with the concept of a stain, Karen was able to get back to basics, to the essence, which is still at the heart of her practice. She is intrigued by shapes created on the weathered, chipped, broken, scraped and dented surfaces. In these weathered parts, Karen finds the essence of true beauty. Inspired by these findings, she creates wondrous abstract pieces that contemplate imperfection. Acrylic paint, water and various other materials are applied intuitively - often on unstretched cotton - allowing expression to run wild.