Karen Cipolla
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Bio: After many years as a successful photographer, during which her images were widely distributed and became a part of many private collections, Karen Cipolla moved from lower Manhattan to Connecticut. In this new setting she found a new calling: making objects rather than photographing them. This fresh environment has provided many of the items Cipolla now incorporates into her assemblages and sculptures. She is currently showing in many local galleries while exploring just how far she can push these newly found materials.
Statement: “You’re a process artist.” Although I was familiar with the term, I never realized how accurately it defined my approach to my own work. I can spend days involved with a project, only to rip it apart without batting an eye in order to try something totally different, and then rip that apart. Given this style of working, I would have to love what I’m doing, and I absolutely do. I am never in a hurry to arrive at the finish line. Instead, the experiences of the creative process, along with the decisions made, are as integral to, and are as important as—and possibly more important than--the finished piece itself.
“I’ll know when I see it.” I can go into a project with a particular vision, but that does not necessarily have any bearing on the end result. The conscious and subconscious, working together, present other interpretations. It is always beneficial to keep an open mind.
“The happy accident,” which inevitably occurs in one way or another, is a happenstance for which I am forever grateful. The unexpected landing of the elements as they hit the floor and become something other than what I had intended is always, along with an element of surprise, a new point of departure.
Going “hand in hand,” the two most important aspects for me are working with my hands and problem solving, both of which thrill me to the nth degree.
Statement: “You’re a process artist.” Although I was familiar with the term, I never realized how accurately it defined my approach to my own work. I can spend days involved with a project, only to rip it apart without batting an eye in order to try something totally different, and then rip that apart. Given this style of working, I would have to love what I’m doing, and I absolutely do. I am never in a hurry to arrive at the finish line. Instead, the experiences of the creative process, along with the decisions made, are as integral to, and are as important as—and possibly more important than--the finished piece itself.
“I’ll know when I see it.” I can go into a project with a particular vision, but that does not necessarily have any bearing on the end result. The conscious and subconscious, working together, present other interpretations. It is always beneficial to keep an open mind.
“The happy accident,” which inevitably occurs in one way or another, is a happenstance for which I am forever grateful. The unexpected landing of the elements as they hit the floor and become something other than what I had intended is always, along with an element of surprise, a new point of departure.
Going “hand in hand,” the two most important aspects for me are working with my hands and problem solving, both of which thrill me to the nth degree.