The Arts Center at Duck Creek is pleased to present Karen May: Artforum Interventions, a two-part exhibitIon in collaboration with NIAD (Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development), presented at Duck Creek, and in NIAD’s archive of curated online exhibitions. NIAD’s visual arts studio program gives people with disabilities the skills and experience to express themselves, be independent and earn income as artists. Karen May has been a prolific part of this program for over a decade, and this exhibit will feature a selection of her drawings on Artforum advertisements.
Artforum magazine, known for its iconic 10.5 x 10.5 inch square format since 1962, is instantly recognizable to contemporary art enthusiasts. Critic Jerry Saltz once described Artforum as “where the art world does its peacocking,” noting that advertisements constitute 70 percent of the magazine.
Karen May’s drawings and paintings are vibrant, dynamic abstractions, often densely packed with color, pattern, and mark making. But in response to the Artforum ads, her approach becomes more complex, complementing and contrasting the underlying imagery. In one ad, her activation of the negative space forms a mass of disparate, colorful objects, including a Ken Price sculpture. In another, May animates the empty white walls of Galerie Perrotin by mimicking its architecture with bright, wriggling marks, that compress the space in their wake.
This contrast between the magazine’s clean precision and May’s voracious, instinctive drawing underscores the gap between the genuine urge to create art, and the glossy presentation of that urge when it’s been packaged for sale..
Special thanks to everyone at VJS framing for helping us get all of Karen’s work framed, and to Josefin Lundahl and the staff at NIAD for bringing this wonderful show to fruition!
The Arts Center at Duck Creek is a New York State-recognized 501(c)(3) entity, located at
Historic Duck Creek Farm in East Hampton, NY. Since 2018, we have been dedicated to the
stewardship of this land as a place to inspire our community with free creative programming that
supports artists, celebrates diversity, and honors the East End’s cultural legacy. Our operations
are sustained solely through grant allocations and generous donations from the community. Our
programming is always free & open to all.
*Events are subject to change, please check our website for updates!
www.duckcreekarts.org / info@duckcreekarts.org / +1-631-604-8464
