Although my work continually alternates between two art forms, quilt making and sculpture, I use similar methods of stacking, layering and repetition in both in order to evoke the element of time and suggest a sense of protection and strength. In many instances the layering is metaphorical, part of a process where the overlay of patterns and personal stories creates the final piece.

Favorite motifs include the house form and the spiral. Along with the many examples of spirals in nature such as seashells, air currents and the double helix of DNA, there are psychological connotations of growth and development, of natural progression and enlargement that are appropriate and delightful associations when I view my work.

A series of embossed silk pieces, culminating in Family Tree, addresses that most intimate relationship of mother and daughter that is at the same time a shared journey and a process of individualization...parallel lives with differing perspectives.

I believe that the physical act of making art allows a conversation between the conscious self and the elusive unconscious, occasionally bringing to the artist a brilliant moment of clarity. For these moments, I continue to make objects.

Biography

Originally from Pennsylvania, Karin Lusnak worked as a Research Associate in genetics and molecular biology laboratories at the University of California in Berkeley from 1971 until 1998. She has pursued her interest in various textile art forms since 1976 when she enrolled at Pacific Basin School of Textile Arts. In 1994 she received her MFA in textiles from California College of Arts and Crafts, now CCA. She is one of fifty invited artists whose quilt appears in Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs / in association with Girls Incorporated, edited by Jen Bilik and published by C&T Publishing, Incorporated. She is one of ten artists appearing in Charlotte Grossman’s documentary film, "Woman’s Work: Making Quilts – Creating Art".

Resume

Selected Solo and Small Group Exhibitions

“Spiraling Through Memories of Yesterday”. Solo Show. Nov 19, 2007 - Jan 11, 2008. The Stanford Faculty Club, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA

The Sky’s the Limit, Special Exhibition at the International Quilt
Festival/Houston, Texas. Nov. 1- 4, 2007 and touring for the following year with Quilts, Inc. venues.

“Layer Upon Layer: Recent Work by George-Ann Bowers, Jane Burton and Karin Lusnak. May 12 -June 3, 2007. Gualala Arts Center, Gualala, CA.

Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Spring 2006 Exhibition.  Juried by Michele Rowe Shields, visual art director at Villa Montalvo.  June 8 - July 26, 2006.  600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.

California Art Quilts at the California Heritage Museum.  April 28 - August 20, 2006.  California Heritage Museum, 2612 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA

REVELations 2005: Contemporary Quilts and Fiber Art from Faultline Studio Artists.  January 5 – April 1, 2005.  Palo Alto Research Center, 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA.

Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts, state office building, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA. August 30 – December 6, 2004.

Faultline Studio Artists: Art Quilts and Fiber Art.  June 11 – September 4, 2004.  Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Avenue, San Rafael, CA.

Members' Showcase Solo Exhibition.  April 25 – June 5, 2004. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut Street, Berkeley, CA.

"El Arte De Coser Arte".  Guest Curator, Jesus Eguiarte.  February 23rd – March 30th, 2004.  Ayuntamiento Cultural de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. October 23rd - November 23rd, 2003.  Museo de America, Madrid, Spain.

Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Summer Exhibition.  Juried by Bay Area art collector, Steven Oliver. June 11- July 25, 2003.  600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.

Eleven Women Making Art.  Faultline Studio Artists at Aalto Gallery.  August 6th -12th, 2002. 552 A Street, Ashland, Oregon.

Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Fall Members Show.  Juried by Karen Tsujimoto, Senior Curator, Oakland Museum of California.  September 12 – October 30, 2002.  600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.

Faultline Studio Artists, "A Shared Vision", Contemporary Fiber Art.  November 20, 2001 – February, 2002.  California Pacific Medical Center, 2100 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA.

Pacific Rim Sculptors Group 2001 Members Exhibition.  Juried by Rene de Guzman, Visual Arts Curator, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.  September 13 – October 23, 2001.  600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.

Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Sixth Annual Members Exhibition.  Juror: Ruth Braunstein.  September 28 - November 10, 2000.  600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.

Quilts, Etc., Work by Karin Lusnak.  May - June , 2000, 2001. September - October, 2003.  The Berkeley Travel Company, 1301 California St., Berkeley, CA.

Pathways: Work by Karin Lusnak.  January 15-February 12, 2000.  Fifth Season Gallery, 31 W. 10th Street, Tracy, CA.

The Art of Karin Lusnak and Sharon Pearson.  November 4, 1996- January 25, 1997. The Music Annex, 69 Green Street, San Francisco, CA.

M/OTHER.  MFA Exhibition.  Solo show.  October 26 -30, 1993. California College of Arts and Crafts, Door 3 Gallery, Oakland, CA.


Selected Group Exhibitions

Art Quilts X: Xhilarating, Joy in the Making.  November 4, 2005 - January 8, 2006. Chandler Center for the Arts.  Chandler, Arizona.

The Fibers of Your Life- Textiles, Fibers and Extreme Quilts.  October 18 - November 26, 2005.  Grants Pass Museum of Art, Grants Pass, Oregon.

Juror and invited exhibitor.  PIECE: Quilts and Sculptural & Wearable Forms in Fiber.  Alameda Art Center, 1701 Webster St., Alameda, CA. September 2 - 29, 2005.

37th Annual Textile Exhibit, Olive Hyde Art Gallery, 123 Washington Blvd., Fremont, CA .  April 1– May 7, 2005.

The Art of Fine Craft, Juried by Suzanne Baizerman, Imogene Gieling Curator of Decorative Arts and Fine Craft, Oakland Museum of CA.  December 7 – 29, 2004.   O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, 616 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley, CA

All in the Family III. Juried by Rene di Rosa & Jack Rasmussen.  November 24 – December 27, 2004.  Off the Preserve, 1142 Main St., Napa, CA.

Extreme Quilts (National). November 2 - December 20.  Grants Pass Museum of Art, 229 SW "G" Street, Grants Pass, OR 97526.

The Art of Sewing Art.  November 1 – 7, 2004.  Special exhibit presented by 2004 International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas.

FIBER 2004: Quilts & Sculptural & Wearable Forms in Fiber Featuring the Faultline Studio Artists. November 5 - 24, 2004. Alameda Art Center, 1701 Webster St., Alameda, CA.

INNOVATIONS IN FIBER ART II.  Juried by Carole Beadle. October 21 – November 28, 2004.  Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA.

ProArts New Visions: Introductions 2004.  Juried by Rene di Rosa & Jack Rasmussen.  July 21 - August 29, 2004.  ProArts Gallery, 550 Second Street, Oakland, CA

Wide Angle, Fine Focus.  May 25- July 15, 2001.  San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles,  110 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, CA.

Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs.   (Invitational)  An exhibition developed with Girls Incorporated of Alameda County and sponsored by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Tour began in 1999.  At Oakland Museum of California March 4- July 23, 2000.

Dwellings.  (International juried)  November 12, 1997- January 11, 1998.   American Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA. (Reviewed: Art Quilt Magazine, Issue #9, p38)

Masquerade! Portraits in Hiding. Sept. 30- Nov. 6, 1994.  Clymer Museum Gallery, Ellensburg, WA.

Threads: Small Scale Textiles.  March 31- May 19, 1985.  Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA.

Gold Country ' 83 Fine Arts Show.  November 9-19, 1983. Auburn, CA.

Fiber.  June 26- August 16, 1980. Civic Arts Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA.


Publications, Film

Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolio 12 (Contributing Artist).  2005.
Published by Studio Art Quilt Associates. Edited by Cheryl Dineen Ferrin.

"Woman's Work:Making Quilts~Creating Art"   Ten Faultline Studio Artists appear in a documentary film produced by Charlotte Grossman. www.womansworkvideo.com

Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, October 2003, Vo. 34, No. 8, pages 42, 43.  (Contributing artist).

Noted in show review:  Artweek, December 2000, Volume 31, Issue 12.

Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs (Contributing artist).  Edited by Jen Bilik.  C&T Publishing, 1999.

The Fiber Arts Design Book (Contributing Artist). Published by Fiber Arts Magazine, 1980.


Collections

Alameda County Art Collection, Alameda County, CA.

Private collections.