Karen Connell

Chicken of the Woods, Oak Park, 2017

Insulation foam sealant, paint

www.karenconnell.com

 

Artist Statement: Karen Connell

 

I walked this neighborhood, looking and listening, before deciding what to create for this installation. Down the street, I found a tree that had a crude cut in it; its limb had been severed to make room for electrical lines. On that cut, two mushrooms grew. Nature persisted.

 

After seeing documentation of the recent flooding around the world, I wondered what would happen to all the houses once the water evaporated. What if, nature persisted…and in the form of something that provided sustenance?

 

The mushrooms I chose to fabricate, Chicken of the Woods, are so named because they apparently taste like chicken when fried. They are easy to identify because of their fleshy orange, red and yellow leaves. Chicken of the Woods has an otherworldly look and that is what I was seeking. I wanted the house to feel as if it were going through a preternatural transformation.    

 

Hosts: Jessica Tovrov + Thomas Rodgers: 844 S. Kenilworth Av, Oak Park,

 

Artist Bio; 

 

Karen Connell is an artist living and working in Chicago after graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design with an MFA in Painting and Printmaking. Karen makes photographs of dioramas, video and installation work that examines the simulated world. Karen has exhibited at the Delaware Art Museum, Filter Photo, The Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, Louisiana State University, San Francisco State University, Columbia University and elsewhere throughout the country.