Hand Painted Blue Zia Coaster

Karen Benelli has been an artist most of her life. She is both self-taught and formally educated. She has lived in many parts of the world and began her formal training as a teenager living in Turkey. She attended classes in art from the University of Rome, Italy and continued her art education while living in San Antonio, Texas and Los Alamos, NM. Karen has remained an active artist, working creatively over the last 20 + years. She demonstrates broad range of talent based on her wide range of experiences and exposure.

Karen's painting style can be intricately detailed and naturalistic; or complex, abstracted representational pieces. However, at the heart of her work is an aesthetic that is characteristic of native or primitive art. In the tradition of Earl Cunningham, Grandma Moses, and Georgia O'Keeffe, Karen seeks to tell a story of everyday life, dreams and fantasies, a serene world with a love of color and shapes. Consequently, the watercolors, alcohol inks, and acrylics of Karen Benelli are both complicated and simplistic. There is often an indifference to perspective within a highly sophisticated composition. There is an emphasis on the narrative of the work, and the viewer's attention converges on certain details while exploring the succession of shapes and images on the same plane. Karen's paintings demonstrate a diversity of style, and yet, are remarkably unified as a body of work. They carry a personal message that conveys a work that is restful, festive and ordinary, beautiful, and mysterious. She has sold her paintings and ceramics in galleries throughout the US and Europe.

Karen now resides in Bernalillo, NM. She is a New Mexico True Certified Artist.
“Money can't buy us love and kindness, but it can bring inspiring artwork into our lives. Every piece of art has its own story.