Ashlea Karkula works primarily in acrylic paint, building up layers of highly saturated, bright colors to create vibrant representational paintings and found object interventions. In her works on canvas, fluorescent pinks, oranges, and greens take on tactile topographiesas she adds layer upon layer of paint.Recent works, like Baby Hot Dogs for Sale and Santa and His Pterodactyls, illuminate fantastical worlds whose subjects intermingle in a chaotic slurry of friends, villains, and humor.
Karkulahas presented work in exhibitions throughout Minnesota, includingWe Are Not Disposable(2020),Randomlandat The White Page (2019), Groundswell at Artspace Jackson Flats (2019), and Work with Your Quirk at the Bridgewater Lofts (2019). In 2023, exhibitions include Perennial Hug at Circle Contemporary (Chicago, IL) and Today is the Greatest (Richmond, CA). Karkula's work is in the permanent collection of the Institute for the Developing Brain.She also serves on the Board of Directors and advocates for the Northland 300, an annual snowmobile fundraiser for the Special Olympics.
Special thanks to Xavier Tavera for this photo of the artist at work.
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