In an exhibition titled CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGS: AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY, Karon Winzenz will present a retrospective of works created since the early 1980s. Included will be mixed media wall reliefs and free standing sculpture from three series titled, “Altars”, “Shrines”, and “Monoliths”.

Winzenz further describes the works she will exhibit:  “As an artist seeking to express aspects of human spirituality I began in the late1970s to look for models and archetypes outside my own modern, secular culture. Conceptually my work is influenced by the ritual art and architecture of pre-historic and non-Western cultures, especially those of the New World before and after European contact. Mindful of the problems of misappropriation of the spiritual patrimony of others, my work does not seek to imitate specific cultural forms or symbols, but to transform them from my perspective in space and time. I prefer to work in a semi-abstract rather than a literal or narrative style inviting viewers to bring their own experiences and spiritual understandings to the work.”

Karon moved to Door County in 2005 and joined the UUFDC in 2010. Her major career was as a practicing artist and a professor at UWGB where she taught studio art (specializing in painting and textiles as fine art) and art history (modern, Maya, and Mesoamerican art).

Karon is listed in Who’s Who in American Art with biographic entry from 1986 to the present. In 1973 she earned an M.F.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since retirement she has been writing and teaching about the ancient Maya. She has also returned to painting.

There will be an opportunity for art enthusiasts to deepen their understanding of this exhibit in mid-June. The artist will present a slide-talk at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 16, to discuss the influences of non-Western cultures and their world-views on her work. A reception will follow. The public is invited to attend.