Karen Swenholt is a figurative sculptor based in Northern Virginia. Educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art and California College of the Arts, she further honed her craft at New York Studio School under Bruce Gagnier and at Virginia’s Art League. Her work is deeply influenced by the West Coast Bay Area figurative movement and the emotional depth of abstract expressionism from her East Coast roots. Swenholt's sculptures feature rough, painterly surfaces that contrast with their inherent grace, particularly in her expressive depictions of the human face and gesture.
Swenholt views the world as a beautiful nest for humanity, with an optimistic yet realistic outlook on the human condition. Her sculptures reflect the tension between life's beauty and the inevitable presence of loss, serving as small monuments to human passion and her understanding of God’s role in the world. Stylistically, she draws inspiration from masters like Goya, Manuel Neri, Munch, Velasquez, Rodin, Michelangelo, and the Grunewald Altarpiece, blending layers of visual beauty and meaning with a respect for abstraction and formal aesthetics.
She resonates with Victor Hugo's belief that "In the Middle Ages, man had no great thought that he did not put in stone," viewing art as a language for understanding and communication. Swenholt sculpts both from imagination and models, using the model's pose as a found object. Her creative process involves a dual pursuit of beauty and truth, with the initial spark of inspiration evolving alongside the exploration of form. Occasionally, she accompanies her sculptures with verse, likening these words to song lyrics that, while not meant to stand alone, enrich the artwork they accompany.
Karen Swenholt's works have been exhibited in various museums and galleries, including Still Point Gallery in Alpharetta, Georgia; Waterfall Mansion & Gallery in NYC, NY; Dadian Gallery in Washington DC Sewall-Belmont Museum in Washington and Gallery Imperato in Baltimore, MD, to name a few. Swenholt was selected to the Artist in Residence at Convergence in Alexandria, Virginia, where her large-scale sculptures are viewed in their Sculpture Garden. She was part of the Artist-in-Residence at Washington Shakespeare Company from 2002-2011 and at Wesley Theological Seminary throughout 2010. Her work was collected in many public and private collections, including the home of Bono (U2), The Vladimir Romanov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, and public institutions, including Cairn University in Philadelphia, Wesley Theological Seminary, and other public institutions across the United States.
