ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“My works reflects the complexity of an infinite cosmos in which everything is connected. As a result, the art I make depicts the universe from the micro to the macro scale with an intricate play of light and form. This awe of nature drives me to paint lengthy series that are inspired by diverse areas of science from astronomy to quantum physics.
By painting subjects such as Galileo’s Sunspots, the 110 objects in space of the Messier Catalogue, and the 17 sub-atomic particles, I explore the underlying architecture of the cosmos with its vast range of scale and infinite patterns. Through my art, I work to awaken in the viewer a heightened sense of our place in this wildly wondrous universe. As astrophysicist, Neil de Grasse Tyson reminds us, ‘We are in the universe and the universe is in us.’”
ARTIST BIO
Throughout her lengthy career, Karen Tompkins’ art has focused on revealing the mysteries of the universe. By engaging with scientific knowledge, she creates large bodies of work that shed light on nature from the very smallest, sub-atomic particles to the largest structures in the universe, such as galactic filaments.
Once she has decided on a concept for a series, her process involves lengthy research and experimentation. For instance, as a visiting artist at The American Academy in Rome, she delved into the astronomy of Galileo Galilei for her series Galileo Sunspots. Her research was centered at the Vatican Rare Manuscripts Library where she reproduced original drawings by Galileo of sunspots and copied sketches he made of his theories. Her most celebrated piece in the Galileo Sunspots series was an 8x9 foot replica of the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope composed of 19 hexagonal paintings of Galileo’s sunspots.
The idea for her Messier series was inspired by time spent in Paris at the Musée National du Moyen Âge. There she discovered that Charles Messier, the 18th century French astronomer had observed the night sky from an observatory, located at the top of the Musée and catalogued the 110 luminous objects whose light fills the night sky. These nebulae, star clusters, galaxies and supernovae are the swirling, blazing points of light became the subject of a dazzling series of 50 paintings.
For her most recent series, titled Quantum: Making the Invisible Visible, she is collaborating with physicists at Imperial College, London. While studying the Quarks, Leptons and Bosons of the Standard Model she made individual portraits of the 17 subatomic particles. The highlight of her research at Imperial was being given permission to view atoms with an electron microscope.
Tompkins evokes the mystery and complexity of nature that inspired artists such as Agnes Martin, Olafur Eliasson and Tomas Saraceno. It is Tompkins' belief that we are all made of the “star stuff” which composes the universe and binds us to the ecstatic pulse of nature. Her work reflects the complexity of an infinite cosmos in which everything is connected.
Tompkins has participated in over sixty solo and group exhibitions during the course of her career. She studied painting and drawing at the Academy of Fine Art in Rome, Italy and at the Pratt Institute Graduate School in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is included in numerous private, corporate and museum collections. Tompkins lives and works in London.