BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Karen Hochman Brown [American, b.1958] is a Los Angeles-based nature photographer using software to manipulate her images into multi-layered kaleidoscopic constructs. Her work is sensitive to the inherent beauty of the subjects as she strives to magnify that quality through focus and repetition. The resulting geometric forms resonate in harmony and discord, creating unique energies.
She studied art at Pitzer College, California College of Art and Art Center College of Design, but self-developed her processes through experimentation, relying heavily on skills learned as a graphic designer. Inspirations include Georgia O’Keeffe, Piet Mondrian, Frank Stella and the Geometric Abstraction movement.
Hochman Brown’s work has been shown mainly in California and New York. In addition to the kaleidoscopic art, she works in digital painting and animation techniques.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My kaleidoscopic fascination goes back to my childhood days. Take a tube of cardboard and mirror, look with one eye. All is reflected light; the world disappears–geometry illuminated.
Computer software and hardware now replace my toy. I sit with a stylus and keyboard, directing as the show unfolds while I turn, layer, and spin reflections of my photographs. Not restricted to a flat mirror, I romp through polar space, fiddle with fractals, and play in the realm of infinite images.
I get great satisfaction finding details in symmetry, creating each of the bits of the piece as a whole. But the real delight is weaving the many kaleidoscopic layers of my art into a single image. The finished piece should hold a cohesive energy and balance. Shading each layer creates depth. I want the viewer to be drawn into the singular world encased in the artwork.
Education
2007-09 ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
1992-2003 UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, Continuing Education
1996 Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA
1991 Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA
1981-83 California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA, Teaching Credential
1979 Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, B.A. in Art
1977 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Photo/Synthesize, Yuma Art Center, Yuma, AZ
Shoreline Symmetry, California Center for Digital Art, Santa Ana, CA
Elementals (The Robot Show), Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA
Botanic Geometry, Crain Art Gallery, San Marino, CA
The Seven Species, Jewish Federation of Pomona & San Gabriel Valleys Gallery, Monrovia, CA
Shoreline Symmetry, The Main Gallery, Santa Clarita, CA
2016 Reflections In The Garden, The Gallery at The Arboretum Library, Arcadia, CA
Alta/Pasa/Dena Open Studios Solo Show, Altadena, CA
Judaic Iterations, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, Pasadena, CA
2015 Perfectly Pink, Some Crust, Claremont, CA
Fresh Harvest, Jewish Federation of Pomona & San Gabriel Valleys, Monrovia, CA
Group Exhibitions
2018 The Night Before, McGinty’s Gallery at the End of the World, Altadena, CA
About A Box, Shoebox Projects, Los Angles, CA
Blue Roof Studios Arts Festival, Blue Roof Studios, Los Angeles, CA
PØST: Kamikaze - Let Me Eat Cake, PØST Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Soft Bytes: a feminist and female identified animation festival, Association of Hysteric Curators, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Abstraction, Art@The Six, Calabasas, CA¬
2nd Annual Photographic Competition and Exhibition, LA ArtCore Brewery Annex, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Phenomena, Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art, Neutra Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Who Do You Think You Are, San Fernando Valley Arts & Cultural Center, Tarzana, CA
Off The Wall, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, CA
The Sunniest Place on Earth, Yuma Art Center, Yuma, AZ
Creactivaction, Art Landing Gallery, Inglewood , CA
Floral, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2016 LACDA Top 40, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
COLOR, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
The Pasadena Art Show, Art in the Arthouse, Pasadena, CA
8th Annual 50|50 Show, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Patterns, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Reflections, E3 Convergence Gallery, Missoula, MT
Alta/Pasa/Dena Open Studios, Altadena Public Library, Altadena, CA
2015 Contrast, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Reflections on Peace, The Gallery at Hillcrest, La Verne, CA
Bon Appetit, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Art on Millionaire’s Row, Altadena Public Library, Altadena, CA
Unconventional Means, Laguna Beach, CA
2014 Ceramic & Quilts & Digital, Art in the Garden, Pasadena, CA
2013 Nature Speaks, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
August Salon, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
12 x 12, Todd Art Gallery, Murfreesboro, TN
All Women, Light Space & Time Gallery, Online, USA
Spring Show, Altadena Healing Arts, Altadena, CA
2012 Snap to Grid, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
Life: Real and Imagined, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Botanicals, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Wide Open Digital, Digital Arts: California, Online, USA
NanoArt 2012, NanoArt 21, Online, USA
Life Forms, Caladan Gallery, Cambridge, MA
2011 Water’s Edge, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Dreamscapes, Onisi Gallery, New York, NY
2004 Montrose-Verdugo City Juried Art Exhibit, Whites Gallery, Montrose, CA
2003 ASD Dream Art Exhibition, Association for the Study of Dreams, Berkeley, CA
Beautiful, Period Gallery, Omaha, NE
Bit By Bit, Business of ArtCenter, Manitou Springs, CO
Special Projects
2017-18 Through the Eyes of Artists poster series, LA Metro, Los Angeles, CA
She Loves Me, Set Design, JFed Players, Pasadena, CA
Fools, Set Design, JFed Players, Pasadena CA
Artist-In-Residence
2018 Crowell Public Library, San Marino, CA
2016 The Gallery at The Arboretum Library, Arcadia, CA
Press
2018 Art and Cake, “Karen Hochman Brown’s Shoreline Symmetry,” September 26, 2018
AEQAI, “Karen Hochman Brown Shows Us the Beauty of Math in ‘Botanic Geometry,’” March 2018
Full Blede, “ISSUE FOUR: The Pattern,” March 2018
Art and Cake, “Karen Hochman Brown’s Botanic Geometry at Crain Art Gallery,” March 19, 2018
KCRW Design & Architecture “5 design things to do this week,” March 26, 2018
2017 Diversion LA, “Inward and Outward: The Kaleidoscopic Art of Karen Hochman Brown,” December 30, 2017
JLife Magazine, “Karen Hochman Brown: How One Local Artist Creates & Inspires,” July 2017 Issue
2016 Sunrise Spotlight on Karen Hochman Brown, Artist, Crown City News, Pasadena, CA, September 19, 2016
2015 365 Days Artists, “Karen Hochman Brown-Altadena California,” Oct 17, 2015
Representation & Affiliation
Los Angeles Art Association
Pasadena Society of Artists
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
Shoebox PR, Los Angeles, CA
Jewish Artists Initiative
Women's Caucus for Art
Awards
2018 Honorable Mention, “Vibrant”, N.Y. Photo Curators
2016 Honorable Mention, Awarded by Spotlight Art Solo Exhibition, International
Gallery of the Arts, Toronto, Canada,
2015 Volunteer of the Year, Awarded by JFed Players, Arcadia, CA
2008 Woman of the Year, Awarded by the Jewish Federation of Pomona & San Gabriel Valleys, Pasadena, CA
2008 Chay’ay Olam Woman of Distinction, Awarded by the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, Pasadena, CA
2003 Woman of the Year, Awarded by the Jewish Federation of Pomona & San Gabriel Valleys, Pasadena, CA
1980 Juror’s Choice, Awarded by the Business of ArtCenter, Manitou Springs, CO
Professional
2010-present Hochman Brown Judaica, Designer and Producer, Pasadena, CA
2014 Morris Press Cookbooks, Designer and Producer, Kearney, NE
1987-2007 Flier For Hire, Graphic Designer, Altadena, CA
1996-99 Pasadena Heritage, Design Editor and Artist Director, Pasadena, CA
Teaching
Construction Geometry via Art, Waldorf School, Altadena, CA, 1994
Construction Geometry via Art, Arts Magnet High School, Oakland, CA, 1981-1983
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