Karen McEndoo SWAc
PERSONAL HISTORY
Karen lives in Tregony near Truro in Cornwall and spent her early life in several countries in Africa including Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.
She completed her foundation at North Devon College under Robin Wiggins and Michael Darling and went on to study Graphics and Illustration in Taunton. She spends much of her time walking the North and South Cornish coastlines (the wild cliffs and rich colours reviving memories of Africa) which are often reflected in her work.
WORK – INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES
Unbound by physical representation, pure abstraction enables me to more fully penetrate the world I inhabit'.
K McEndoo
Anticipated Germination, Acrylic
Antigone, Acrylic
Based in the South West, Karen McEndoo's work is drawn from the dichotomy of chaos and humanity's constant search for balance, exploring the diametric of light and dark, existence, non-existence, matter and anti-matter.
One mechanism to achieve this balance is science - a measured interpretation of man's encounter with the world. The process of abstraction, works similarly as a visual means of navigating these dichotomies.
Within the abstracted chaos, discernable shapes rise and blur before reaching formation. Sweeps of colour appear removed, as if filtered through a lens, fighting against the black which quietly pervades many of McEndoo's paintings.
Opposites existing in the physical qualities of paint itself are explored - flat planes are challenged by exposed layering, muddied hues bleed around strong primaries, texture built is at once reduced.
Bleary forms abut sharp blocks of colour, generating a sense of movement - a dancing shift in focus. At first seemingly restful, McEndoo's work is imbued with a taut energy.
Emma Leaper 2015
McEndoo's influences are wide but include artists such as Sandra Blow, Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Richard Diebenkorn, Marc Chagall, Karen Darling, Nicholas de Stael, Joan Eardley, Scott Bergey, Antoni Tapies and Linda Vachon to name quite a few.
MEMBERSHIPS
Member, North Devon Arts Group
(based at the Broomhill Art Hotel Barnstaple)
Member, Westward Ho and Bideford Art Society
Associate Member, Penwith Gallery, St Ives
Member, St Ives Society
Member, Tregony Gallery, Tregony, Roseland Pen
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