Illusion of nature: Karen Clasen's intuitive compositions

Her paintings look like depictions of nature, but in reality they are independent pictorial worlds into which the artist incorporates the various impressions from her life. Karen Clasen (*1990) translates physical movement and constantly changing mental states into colors and pictorial forms reminiscent of flowers, mountains, forests or other natural forms. Clasen does not follow a fixed plan, but interacts with the work: her pictures are created layer by layer over time, undergoing revisions and reinterpretations until a plausible composition has developed that combines representational and abstract elements. A large selection of Clasen's artworks can be seen in the Gallery of the Staatstheater Schwerin from March 15. The exhibition Nature and Intuition: Paintings by Karen Clasen was organized by the Schwerin Art and Museum Association and is open until 27 April.

Karen Clasen, who is taking part in the Art.Salon artist program, mainly creates paintings and collages. In the latter, she combines painting, drawing, printing and textile art, creating a special texture. Clasen uses second-hand fabrics provided to her by artists and women from her family environment to continue the history of fabrics in a surprising way. Recently, the artist has increasingly begun to experiment with different materials in order to explore new possibilities of expression. Clasen's repertoire also includes digital artworks in which she combines photographs of early creative phases of her paintings with photographs of old computer components. The artist studied illustration at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and now lives in Wismar. Her works of art have been exhibited in Hamburg and Berlin, among other places, and have found their way into several private collections, including the Block Collection of the Grand Elysée.