The Brothership Building Window curated by IS183 Art School of the Berkshires will feature Keep Going, Keep Growing by Kara Anton for the month of November.
ARTIST BIO: Immersed in the fine arts from the young age of three, Kara Anton’s first passion was drawing horses. By age five, she was fascinated with Pablo Picasso and abstract expressionism. Surrounded by art books, brushes, and a rainbow of media always within reach, she was often found creating fearlessly on large canvases three-times her size. From that point forward, Kara sought comfort in the creative arts and in a colorful world of art, dance, and theatre where she won first place in many art shows and regional dance competitions.
Kara was born in Royal Oak, Michigan and raised in Laguna Beach, California. She lived in Chicago, IL for 10 years, finding regular solace among great artists featured in the Art Institute of Chicago. Since the summer of 2021, Kara has been busy creating in IS183 Art School’s new Annex Studio at Citizens' Hall in Stockbridge, and she is teaching IS183 after-school art programs in Pittsfield and Richmond. Inspired by her Greek and Italian roots, her name means Joy and Beloved. Kara's hope is to inspire joy (Χαρά in Greek) through the uplifting, hopeful energy and depth of colors in her art.
ARTIST STATEMENT: While my first love is painting, I have this yearning spirit to move! Dance lives in my soul. In the same way that I am drawn toward the wild, the free, the true – the sensation you get with the wind in your hair on an untrodden path – dance is how I feel alive and how my canvases come alive. Inspired by abstract expressionists, action painting, the art of imperfection (wabi-sabi), and channeling child-like imagination, I begin my process with emotion and let the painting reveal itself through movement. I sometimes paint blindly, trusting my subconscious and intuition.
For this show Keep Going, Keep Growing, all the pieces were inspired by channeling a special person in my life and each painted to a specific song. These artworks revealed themselves over the past year to come together and tell a story – not only reflecting this special person's journey but also our journey together.
During the pandemic, we as a society were forced to slow down. Many turned to nature for solace and began noticing the simple pleasures of life. Social injustices and climate issues were brought to the forefront of our conversations. It's been a long period of pain, trauma, and transition. During this time, my fiancé and I transitioned, too. We were given the opportunity to move to Western Massachusetts. And I'm grateful. I love everything about living here, especially waking up in awe of the absolute beauty around me every day, every season. I love knowing my neighbors and feeling a sense of community. But most of all, I love the slowness of things and that living here livens me to enjoy the present and appreciate the gift. Being in nature, surviving this pandemic, has forced us to be more present and realize what's important. Into the wild, we go and we grow. And we must not stop.
