ARTIST STATEMENT

Karen J. Covey is an abstract artist whose work is inspired by her love of vintage goods. By working with materials that already have a history, each piece is an organic process of discovery, allowing the materials to instinctively guide her as she begins. Through thoughtfully-curated textiles and materials, her work is an experimentation of layers, creating a balanced composition of textures, intentional marks, and hand-stitching. Working within a limited palette; preferring instead to experiment with tonality, texture, and composition, the artist creates work that is minimal, yet very contemplative. It’s part of a meditative process that allows her to focus on each piece as it unfolds, turning each into its own new story.

ABOUT

I’m an abstract artist living in coastal Massachusetts. I have a BA from the University of Vermont in Studio Art, and have studied at the Southern Vermont Art Center and the Rhode Island School of Design. I’m also an accomplished chef, cookbook author, and cooking instructor.

I found my professional passion in a long-time career in publishing after an internship in college. In 2015, I launched my own print publication, The Coastal Table, a food and lifestyle quarterly, after the success of my cookbook of the same name, bringing both my passion for food and print together. The publication received some of the industry’s top honors including Best Epicurean Consumer Magazine and Publication of the Year. After five years of publishing, I was looking for a change. However not long after that decision, I suffered the sudden loss of my brother. After months of being in a very difficult place, I returned to art as a way to cope.

After years of styling editorial photo shoots, I was left with a collection of gorgeous antique one-offs, napkins, and linens that were too beautiful to be left stored away. Looking for a new way to use them, I began an exploration into slow stitching.

Slow stitching was a very meditative process for me, at a time when I needed it most. It offered me time to explore the complexities of each piece of fabric, and the weave and thread of how each was held together. Feeling broken, I started to look for the threads I needed to hold myself together as well.

My work is mostly abstract, using a curated collection of vintage textiles and materials as the foundation for my pieces. Anything weathered, worn, or with a patina is usually my favorite place to start. I’m drawn to a simple, monochromatic palette because of the warmth and tranquility it brings to a space. I work on several pieces in different mediums at once. The work explores the way texture, shapes, and subtle color can create a calming environment for which to live. It’s about the simple details in each piece whether the work is paint, ink, or textiles. My hope is that it offers a moment of connection to time and place, leaving the viewer with the same sense of calm that inspired it.

My work can be found in private collections across the United States + Europe.