Karen Fike is a Chicago-based artist specializing in mixed media on canvas. Her artistic focus revolves around figurative abstractions of women, reflecting her role as a female artist and advocate for women's rights. With a keen eye for capturing female strength and elegance, Karen explores the interplay between beauty and chaos, portraying the delicate balance of shattered pieces of life held together with grace. Employing materials such as flash glazes and textured mediums, she creates dynamic artworks that evolve with changing light and angles, imbuing them with a sense of vitality. Karen's ultimate goal is to craft compelling paintings that captivate viewers and invite them to engage on a profound level with each piece.

My lifetime experiences with the concept of Presque Vu (French for “almost seen”) have left their mark on my artistic practice. The sensation of being on the edge of discovery but never quite gaining it; the feeling that something is just out of reach.

Even though I often left behind old homes and friends, new places and people often seemed strangely familiar. These sensations felt electrifying and vivid. They were sometimes filled with excitement or foreboding, hard to capture, and ethereal, dissolving away as fast as they came. This has happened to me many times in my adult life, just like deja vu and sixth sense/premonitions.

I paint in series, working through issues that affect me to my core, such as the COVID pandemic and the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

I use various materials to make my artwork, such as acrylic paint, alcohol inks, flash glazes, precious metal leaf, graffiti paints and pens.

I like to believe that I always leave my viewers on the cusp of some epiphany. This is because there are always new things to see in my paintings as lighting and viewing angles change. Like catching a glimpse of the green flash of a sunset or the fleeting appearance of a Bête Noir (black beast, boogeyman) right after waking up from a dream.