Collages, illustrations, installation, art, album covers, clothing. Light, aerial watercolors – intense and vibrant colors, delicate lines that forms mean skulls, summery surfboards, birds, dogs, sheep and human faces
Yeah defining Karen Segall as anything less than artist, illustrator, fashiondesigner would not really cover her work. She kindly agreed to answer a couple of my questions and below you find the her answers
How would you define the field in which you work?
Crossed, a little messt. Especially when seen from the outside, to me it actually feels very natural to combine illustration and fashion, I don’t perceive myself as a textil designer but would rather say that the textil functions as a medium where my work is brought into everyday life and our surroundings. Usually I work with illustration, cutout and collages from here the motives are transferred onto other media, often these other media are textile. I’ve also worked with knits where abstract landscapes often serve as an inspiration.
Which connections or differences are to you obvious in your work, fashion, art and illustration?
There isn’t really any logical connection or frame of reference as I don’t work directly with fashionillustration as well as not perceiving myself as a textile designer. I am fascinated with what textiles can be used for and how my work can transform, come to live in other media than canvas or paper.
The detailed, quirky two dimensional surfaces transform into three dimensional sculptures on the textile. In this transformation lies the strength. Lastly clothing is three dimensional and becomes sculpturel. And in the end everything can be connected, the important thing is to keep doing work, that you can be proud of and defend. If you are happy with your work it all comes down to contrasts and following your instincts.
Which experiences, artists or phenomena have been especially influential in relation to your work?
I have always been fascinated by something as banal as Popart, Andy Warhol in particular, all of the New York scene, the use of the recognizable in relation to new constellations, contexts. Together with black and white photography, I don’t have one favourite photographer – I am more drawn by the combinaton of the simplicity and the often extreme details that this medium is able to capture. Very little is left for the imagination and in someways this is okay. The visual universe of Jasper Sebastian Stürup is one I find myself returning to over and over again, his lines both intrigues and scares me. In my work I refer to different cultures, especially details from african tribe cultures, japanese clothing, Central American jungleanimals mixed with the cool nordic lines and colornaunces.
Jasper Sebastian Stürup
I often listen to music or sound when I work, I am pretty open in terms of the relation to my artwork. Everything can be percieved as sound, so it comes down to how I feel – if I am able to grasp a rythm that fits the work I do in that moment. In the last couple of years the biggest impact has without a doubt been having a heartsurgery done – this experience made me realize even more how fragile we are. For my work it means gaining a deeper and more sensitive quality.
What are you working on now? And do you have any upcoming projects or interests you wish to work with?
The 16th of June I will start a project where an exbihition will run for 14 days – the result is going to be a deck of playing cards and an exhibition. Thereafter you can purchase a set of art playingcards. I wish to continue the interdisciplinary work, adding knit, textile, photography, illustrations and clothing elements. I am not that interested in restricting myself to one particular direction or medium but to be open for whatever medium is able to show the details and nuances of the traditional crafts in the best possible way.
Want more – check out Karen Segalls on tumblr here, her website here
pssst she is also currently blogging for the danish magazine Cover – it is in danish but if you’re feeling brave – look here
Kaputte 