Illuminating Paintings of Visual and Emotional Journeys

Karen Clarkson, 10thstreetstudio.com, is an esteemed contemporary Color Field artist whose powerful abstract oil paintings invite quiet introspection. They induce a cathartic state of meditation and provide a new way of exploring reality.

Her work is held in private collections internationally and has been featured in publications, exhibitions, and galleries throughout the East Coast of the United States. Her many art career achievements includes being selected for the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2025 Invitational Exhibition.

Banner image: Detail of “Infinite Horizon”, oil on canvas,72″ x 30″

All rights reserved. Do not reproduce images without the artist’s permission.

The Weight of Placement, oil on canvas, 45” x 75″

In addition to being a masterful painter Karen is also an expert in writing about her creative vision, sincere intentions, and profound artistic process. 

Viewing her art and reading her enlightened statement will  expand your awareness and perception about the space you occupy, that which surrounds you, and the forms you encounter in your daily life.

Spatial Dialogue III, oil on canvas, 26″ x 70”

About My Art by Karen Clarkson

I am an American contemporary abstract painter whose work explores the point at which geometry becomes emotional, bodily, and distinctly human.

Through saturated fields of color, softened geometric forms, and carefully measured spatial relationships, I create environments that exist between architecture, memory, and perception.

Spatial Dialogue I, oil on canvas, 26″ x 70”

Rather than depicting a specific place, each composition constructs one. Curved forms press against rigid planes, edges dissolve into luminous gradients, and familiar geometric language shifts in unexpected ways.

These subtle interventions invite viewers to slow down and consider how balance, proportion, and color shape the experience of space.

Bridge of Asses, oil on canvas, 26″ x 70”

Influenced by architecture and the reductive traditions of Minimalism and Color Field painting, I seek clarity through restraint. Every line, edge, and field of color is intentional.

Expanses of uninterrupted color create moments of stillness, while precise geometric relationships introduce rhythm, tension, and movement.

Kinetic Field, oil on canvas, 58″ x 72”

My paintings transform geometry’s formal precision into something quietly human. Neither landscapes nor architectural renderings, they function as constructed psychological spaces where color carries emotional weight and restrained forms reveal increasing complexity over time.

By reducing visual language to its essential elements, I invite sustained contemplation rather than fixed interpretation.

Spatial Dialogue II, oil on canvas, 26″ x 70”

My work encourages viewers to inhabit the space between certainty and ambiguity, discovering how the simplest forms can evoke memory, emotion, and quiet wonder.

Karen is also Featured in These Articles

“Art Transforms Rooms and Art Transforms Lives” manhattanarts.com/view-art-in-rooms

“Many Different Views of Abstract Art” manhattanarts.com/different-views-of-abstract-art

“Artist Members Share Their Inspiration” manhattanarts.com/members-share-their-inspiration

Visit Karen Clarkson’s website 10thstreetstudio.com