Humphrey Head IV

Mike Kareken relies on traditional drawing techniques to interpret the often-hidden realms of our world. Here, his subject is the remote forested landscape of the Pacific Northwest, not far from where he grew up in the state of Washington. Light plays an essential role in Kareken’s compositions, sharing equal billing with the formal arrangement of the landscape elements. Indeed, a mysterious sense of light emanates from above and washes over the scene, evoking a vivid emotional and psychological quality that one may recognize from their own experiences walking in a forest. Produced in collaboration with Highpoint Editions, a Minneapolis-based print workshop, this monoprint (unique print) merges Kareken’s consummate drawing abilities with the unexpected effects that typically characterize the monoprinting process.