About the Speaker: Karen Rifas

My image choices talk about isolation, the anonymity of the crowd, ambiguity, the space between action and reaction, and the ignored places between the deliberate and the staged. Derived from the motion pictures of the 1930s through the 1950s, I’m particularly interested in this era of film and how it aligns with the concept of artifice via opulent and escapist themes.

As subjects of my paintings are about the fleeting, the missing, and the unattainable, as paintings they become the very antithesis of the ephemeral. This contradictory concept is also contained in the way we may connect to these early images through the platforms of modern technology. This new access to “old” materials has created a contemporary anachronism where anything recorded may be accessed. These images and sounds are part of our contemporary consciousness along with all of the other things that make up our world.

As a contemporary artist, I am responding to the “new” subject of these old movies. In painting these images, I have internalized every detail of the source image. Every brushstroke is a result of my looking at each part of the image with equal attention and focus. My paintings are a product of my absorption of the images that I choose and of my processing those images through the externalization of the action of painting.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kristen Thiele lives and works in Miami, FL. Thiele received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995 and her MFA from Miami International University in 2012. During her years in school and after, she sang and played bass in the band Motorhome. They released 2 CDs and 3 singles on New York labels Zero Hour and Dirt Records and played with bands like Everclear, Alanis Morrisette, Missing Persons, Th’ Faith Healers, etc. After graduating from SAIC, Thiele apprenticed with Chicago screen printer Steve Walters of Screwball Press and learned the art of silkscreen printing, primarily printing posters for local and national bands. Upon her return to Miami, she became a member of the Art Center South Florida, (now Oolite Arts) on Lincoln Road in South Beach, where she held a studio until her move in 2010 to Bridge Red Studios in North Miami. Thiele currently co-runs Bridge Red Studios/Project Space, alongside her father Robert Thiele, exhibiting longstanding South Florida artists in an alternative environment. Thiele’s posters were published in the definitive rock poster book, “The Art of Modern Rock” and her paintings in, “Miami Contemporary Artists” and “100+ Degrees in the Shade.”

About the Art Salons

The Art Salons are a unique gathering place for artists from throughout the South Florida region. They offer thoughtful presentations by influential professional artists whose artwork is being shown in museums and galleries in South Florida, nationally and internationally. Presenters show their work and talk about their influences, followed by stimulating discussions between the artist and the audience. These discussions cover the gamut of contemporary conceptual art practices, including cultural, socio/political, environmental, scientific, race and gender focused and aesthetic practices, the materials and techniques used to convey these ideas, and how our own work relates to the world of contemporary art. Art Salons also offer the opportunity to explore the practical side of being an artist, enhance professional development, share useful resources, and network with other artists. Art Salons have been facilitated by Elle Schorr, in conjunction with the ARMORY ART CENTER in West Palm Beach, since 2012. All are welcome to join in these timely explorations.

The Art Salons will now be presented virtually on Zoom! Tuesdays, once a month, from October to May from 7pm to 9pm.
See the Armory calendar for dates or visit www.elleschorrphotography.com