Resume
Biography
Karen Baldner grew up in Germany in a Jewish family who survived persecution by Nazi Germany. The haunted climate of Germany after the Holocaust became a pivotal experience and narrative for her work addressing issues of personal/generational trauma, place and identity. Her work is based in drawing/printmaking, papermaking, installations, experimental book structures and small editions of artist books and is represented by Booklyn and Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. She is on the faculty of Herron School of Art & Design, Indiana University/ Indianapolis where she teaches Book Arts, Papermaking, Letterpress and has established a minor in Book Arts. Karens work has been supported by National Endowment for the Arts and Fulbright grants as well as state grants from Arkansas and Indiana. She shows extensively throughout the US and Europe and her work is in many public and private collections in the US, Canada and Germany.
EDUCATION
1986 MFA Printmaking (with distinction), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
1982 BFA Printmaking, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
1974-76 Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste, Munich, Germany
AWARDS
2023 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching
2020 Herron School of Art Associate Faculty Teaching Award
2009 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant
2006 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant
2005 &06 Bloomington Community Arts Commission
2004 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant
2003 Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship
2003 IUPUI Associate Faculty Professional Development Grant
2000 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant
2000 Merit Award, 50th Quad State Exhibition, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
1998 Fellowship from the Arkansas Arts Council for Works on Paper
1997 Residency at Illinois State University, Bloomington/Normal, IL
1996 National Endowment for the Arts grant from the Mid-American Arts Alliance for Works on Paper
1995-'97 & '97-'99 Arkansas Arts Council, Artist-in-Residence Grant
1995 Best Of Show, First Place in 2-D at Matrix International '95, Sacramento, CA
1993 Residency at the Womens Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
1991/92 Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation Grant
1989 Faculty Development Grant, Bucknell University
1987 Women Photographing Women, Northern German Photography Competition, included in: Best of Show and Traveling Show
1986/87 Fulbright Travel Grant for one year research in West Germany
1986/87 Indiana University/Kiel University Exchange Scholarship, stipend for one year research
at the University of Kiel, West Germany
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 The Jewish/German Dialogue Project with The Shared History Project, Athenaeum, Indianapolis
2016 Page by Page, The Artspace Gallery, College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
2014 The Jewish/German Dialogue Project, Arthur Glick Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Indianapolis
2014 Wounded Landscapes, (two person show), Art Museum, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
2013 Drawing Experience, (two person show), Shircliff Gallery, Vincennes University, IN
2012 Dialogue Through the Arts: a Jewish/German Exploration, Julio Fine Arts Gallery,
Loyola University, Baltimore, MD
2010 reMEMBERING, Basile Gallery, Herron School of Art & Design, Indianapolis
2008 pushmepullyou: A Jewish/German Dialogue Disclosed, Mathers Museum, Indiana University
2008 Witnesses, The Center for Book Arts, New York City
2007 Book Bodies, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Stout Library (duo show)
2004 Heartland & Heimaten, DAI Cultural Center, Heidelberg, Germany
2004 Monologues/Dialogues, Jewish Community Center, Indianapolis, IN
2004 Dialogues, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
2003 Recent Work from the Heartland, Olin Gallery, Roanoke College, Salem, VA
2003 The Bloomington Breast Project in conjunction with the Kinsey Institutes "Sexual
Behavior of the Human Female", S.Mendelsohn Gallery, Bloomington, IN
2002 From the Heartland, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
2001 Dis-Memberment and Re-Membering, New Harmony Gallery, New Harmony, IN
1999 Wall- and other Hangings, Mendelsohn Gallery, Bloomington,IN
1997 Buddha Taking a Break and Other Stories from the Heartland,Artemesia Gallery, Chicago, IL
1997 Selected Recent Work, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1997 To Continue...and To Not Forget-A Voice from the Second Genereation, U of A , Fayetteville, AR
1996 Buddha Taking a Break, Northcutt Steele Gallery, Montana State University, Billings, MT
1995 Buddha Continues His Break, Soho 20 Gallery, New York City
1994 Buddha Taking a Break, Soho 20 Gallery, New York City
1993 Exerpts from Stations O f f the Cross, Soho 20 Gallery, New York City
1993 Privacy on the Line, St.Mary's College, Maryland
1992 Stations O f f the Cross, Artemesia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1992 Privacy, Paper Press Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Represented by
Vamp & Tramp Booksellers
SELECTED JURIED SHOWS
2024 Pulp to Pages, University of Denver, Anderson Academic Commons, Denver ,CO
2024 The Printed Page IV, Spark Gallery, Denver, CO
2024 Sustainability in Chaos, Robert C.Williams Museum of Papermaking, Atlanta, GA
2023 Sustainability in Chaos, SPROUT CoWorking Gallery, Providence, RI
2023 Shared Obsession, NAHP Memebrs Showcase, RISD Fleet Library, Providence, RI
2022 Lettered & Bound, Regis University Dayton Library, Denver, CO
2022 Lettered & Bound, Tallyn's Reach Public Library, Denver, CO
2021 Nat'l Juried Exhibition, Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, OH
2020 Paperworks VII, Foundry Art Centre, St.Charles, MO
2020 2020 Currents, NAHP Members' Showcase, virtual exhibit
2020 May You Live in Interesting Times, NAU Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
2019 Remembering and Forgetting, Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2019 The Art of the Fold, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO
2018 Engaged Editions: Creative Advocacy in Print, Booklyn, New York
2018 Papertrails, Morgan Papermaking Conservatory, Cleveland, OH
2018 Fertile Ground, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2018 CBAA Special Project Grants Recipients, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2017 Conspire, Collaborate, Collect, Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State U, Tallahassee, FL
2015 Source Materials Visualized, Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
2011 On and Off Paper, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL
2011 CBAA members exhibition, SoFA Gallery Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2009 Make an Impression, The Neely Gallery, Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, GA
2009 Bookish, Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis, IN
2007 Conflict/Peace, Columbia Art Center, Columbia, MD
2004 An Open Book, Gallery West, Cuyahoga Comm. College, Cleveland, OH
2003 Beyond Reading, Ellipse Art Center, Arlington, VA
2003 Under Cover : Book Arts, St.Louis Artist's Guild, St. Louis, MO
2002 Artist Memebrs Show, The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
2002 Tolerance and Human Rights , Collins Gallery, Central Library, Potland, OR
2001 Art By The Book, Visual Arts Alliance of Nashville, Nashville, TN
1999 Rx,An Exhibition (health related issues) DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
1998 Confronting Mortality, Gallery Northwest, Indiana U Northwest, Gary, IN
1998 Bienial Exhibition of Book & Paper Art , Columbia College, Chicago, IL
1997 Wings of Desire, IU Northwest, Gary, IN
1997 Bodies of Evidence, University Galleries, ISU, Normal, IL
1996 Figured In/Figure Out, Katherine Nash Gallery, U of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
1996 Healing Works, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
1995 Visions : America, Gallery Ten, Fort Worth, TX
1995 Presswork: Printmaking Exhibition, Miami U & Wright State U, OH
1995 Matrix International, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1995 Annual Paper in Particular, Columbia College, Columbia, MO
1994 Mid-States Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts& Sciences, IN
1993 West Coast Censorship , Lite Rail Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1992 Sense of Self, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland , OH
1992 Piss on Passivity, Sister Serpents, The Gallery, Chicago, IL
1992 Censorship and the First Amendment, Gallery 451, Rockford, IL
SELECTED INVITATIONALS
2023 Every Book a Mirror, North Carolina Collection Gallery, UNC- Chapel Hill, NC
2022 The Fine art of Craft, Birmingham Art Center, Birmingham, MI
2020 Gendered Perspectives, Indiana University East, Richmond , IN
2018 Go West " Our Indiana: MFA Selections", MAPC, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
2018 Echoes of Loss, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
2015 Sticks & Ink, Nat'l Drawing Invitational, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA
2014 - ongoing, Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, getting increasing international and national
exposure such as in AZ, CA, IN, FL, NM, Washington, DC, Bagdad, Iraq,
Cairo, Egypt, Den Haag, Netherlands
2014 Turning the Page, Contemporary Artists' Books, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, IN
2013 The Written Word, John A. Day Gallery, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
2013 Seeing Voices: Contemporary Drawings, Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, UNLV, Las Vegas NV
2012 Nat'l Drawing Invitational, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA
2012 In the Hot Seat, Proximity Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2011 Agents of Change, Gallery 31, Corcoran School of Art & Design, Washington, DC
2011 Artexpo New York, Pier 94, Booth 735, NY
2011 The Bloomington Breast Project at Women Exposed 6, Bloomington, IN
2010 T(I)MBOOKAR(ES)T chapter: reMembering as part of TRIFOLD:NEW PERSPECTIVES ON
BOOK ART, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
2009 Racism, an American Family Value, Center for Book Arts, New York
2008 Herception, Indy Women Printmakers Exhibition, Basil Center, Herron School
Art, Indianapolis
2007 Suendenbock (Scapegoat), Jewish Cultural Center Neue Synagoge, Berlin, Germany
2006 Arkansas Arts Center, Decorative Arts Museum, Little Rock, AR
2005 Wispers and Shouts, Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN
2003 Open Book, McNeese State U, Abercombie Gallery, Lake Charles, LA
2003 Feminine Persuasion, SOFA Gallery,Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2002 Material Matters II, SoFA Gallery Indiana University , Bloomington, IN
2001 National Drawing Invitational, McNeese State U, Lake Charles, LA
1997 Source/Resource, Edna Carlsten Gallery, U of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, WI
1996 From A Woman's Point of View, Fine Arts Center Gallery, U of A,Fayetteville,AR
1993 International Papermakers Congress, Book Arts Exhibition, Montreal, Canada
1993 Bookarts, Gemeente Bibliothek, Rotterdam, Netherlands
1992 Book Objects, Papermaking Museum, Duren, West Germany
1991 International Papermakers Congress, Book Objects Exhibition, Basle, Switzerland
REVIEWS
Lori Waxman, Nuvo, 60wrds/min, April 2019
Lisa Martino, NAU-TV, Wounded Landscapes, Art Museum, Northern Arizona University, 2014
Milan Chlumsky, Rhein-Neckar Zeitung Feuilleton, Karen Baldner im DAI Heidelberg, 2004
Julie Pratt McQuiston, Nuvo, Life in Technicolor Neutrals, Karen Baldner at Indianapolis Art Center, April, 2002
Critics Pick, Manhatten Arts International, Summer 1995
Wayne Dranzim, Sense of Self, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, OH; New Art Examiner, February, 1993
Amy Sparks, Sense of Self, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, OH; Dialogue, November,1992
Dana Felder, Karen Baldner at Artemesia Gallery,Chicago, IL, New Art Examiner, November 1992
Margaret Hawkins, Powerful Art From Trauma, Karen Baldner at Paper Press Gallery,Chicago Sun Times, April 3, 1992
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2023 - Visiting Lecturer, Herron School of Art & Design, Book Arts/Printmaking, Co-Director, Religion, Spirituality and the Arts, Indiana University Indianapolis, Indiana
1998 - 2023
Associate Faculty, Herron School of Art & Design, Book Arts/Printmaking, Indiana University Indianapolis, Indiana
1992 -1993
Visiting Assistant Professor, Printmaking, St. Marys College, Maryland
1990 – 1991
Visiting Assistant Professor, Hope School of Fine Arts, Department of Printmaking,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
1988 – 1990
Assistant Professor, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
1987 – 1988
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS
2015 University of Southern Maine, Portland, 1-day book making intensive
2014 DePauw University,Greencastle, IN, 1-day book making intensive
2014 University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2-day paper making intensive
2013 Vincennes University, IN, 1 day book making intensive
2012 Loyola University, Baltimore, MD, 1-day collaborative book making intensive
2003 Roanoke College, Salem, VA, 2-day book making intensive
2000 Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, 3-day book making intensive
1995-98 Northwest Arkansas school system : paper and book making intensives
1995 Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, 4-day papermaking intensive
1994 Miami University, Oxford, OH, 5-day intensives (papermaking & bookmaking)
1992 Miami University, Oxford, OH, 5-day papermaking intensives, January and June
1986 Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA, 1-day papermaking intensive
SELECTED LECTURES
2022 "Connecting People, Places, Things and Thoughts", Teach Talk, Faculty at the Crossing, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
2021 "The Bloomington Breast Project", “Re-imaging the Local”,Platform Indiana Studies Symposium, IU Bloomington, IN
2019 "Paradoxes", Eastern Carolina University, Greeneville, NC
2015 "Recent Work", University of Southern Maine, Portland
2014 "Wounded Landscapes", Martin Springer Institute, Northern Arizona University, AZ
2014 Artist Books and Recent Work, DePauw University
2014 Recent Work, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
2011 “Sorting Through the Rubble: a Jewish Response to Postwar German Art”,
16th annual Holocaust & Genocide Lecture Series, St Marys College, MD
2008 “Witnesses: Recent Artist Books”, Center for Book Arts, New York City
2007 Interview “Across Indiana”, WISH TV Indianapolis and Indiana PBS stations
2006 Transforming the Legacies of Conflict, War and Genocide through Dialogue,
One By One at the Passinist Center and Fordham University, Riverdale, NY
2006 The Image and the Spoken Word, Art & the Holocaust, Children of Survivors respond,
12th annual Holocaust & Genocide Lecture Series, 2 day symposium, St. Marys College, MD
2000 Recent Work, Penwomen of Indiana, Bloomington Chapter, Bloomington, IN
1997 From the Second Generation, Butterfield Junior High School, Van Buren, AR
1997 A Voice from the Second Generation, Sacred and Profane, U of A, Fayetteville, AR
1997 Recent Work, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
1996/97 From the Second Generation, Literary reflections on the Holocaust, U of A, AR
1996 Recent Work, Indianapolis University, Indianapolis, IN
1995 Recent Work, Columbus State University, Columbus, OH
1994 Recent Work, Miami State University, Oxford, OH
PANEL/CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2011 College Book Arts Association conference panel: “Historic Book Formats and the Spark they Ignite for the Book Artist
2003 Alternative Watermarking, Friends of Dard Hunter Meeting, Minneapolis, MN
1997 FATE Conference, panel : "A Figurative Foundation: Structure and Metaphor"
1996 Arkansas Holocaust Educational Conference, presentation: "A Voice from the Second Generation"
1995 Mid-America College Art Association, panel: "Artists Books"
COLLECTIONS
Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Special Collections, Berlin, Germany
Bayrische Staatsbibliothek, Artist Book Collection, Munich, Germany
Library of Congress, Rare Books & Special Collections, Washington, DC
Columbia University, Rare & Special Collections, New York, NY
Massachusetts College of Art, Goodine Library, Artist Book Collections, Boston, MA
Tufts University, Special Collection, Medford, MA
University of Florida, Smathers Library, Gainesville, FL
University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections, Burlington, VT
University of Connecticut, Dodd Reseach Center, Special Collections, Stors, CT
Swarthmore College, McCabe Library, Special Collections, Swarthmore, PA
Savannah College of Art&Design, Jen Library, Special Collections, Savannah, GA
University of Washington, Special Collections, Seattle, WA
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Sloan Art Library, Special Collections, NC
University of South Carolina, Hollings Library, Special Collections, Columbia, SC
University of California Riverside, Rivera Library, Special Collections, CA
University of California Los Angeles, Young Library Special Collections, CA
University of California Los Angeles, Darling Biomedical Library Special Collections, CA
University of California Santa Barbara, Davidson Library, Special Collections, CA
University of Southern California, Doheny Library, Special Collections, Los Angeles, CA
Boston Athenaeum, Rare Books Library, MA
Baylor University, Book Arts Collection, Waco, TX
Scripps College, Denison Library Special Collections, Claremont, CA
University of Southern Maine, Glickman Library, Artist Book Collection, Portland, ME
University of Miami, Richter Library, Special Collections, Coral Gabels, FL
Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
Corcoran College of Art & Design, Artist Book Collection, Washington, DC
Burton Barr Central Library, Rare and Artist Book Collection, Phoenix, AZ
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Artist Book Collection, Topeka, KS
Virginia Commonwealth University, Special Collections Library, Artist’s Book Collection, Richmond, VA
University of Richmond, Boatwright Library, Special Collections, Richmond, VA
Ringling School of Art & Design, Kimbrough Library Artist Book Collection, Saratoga, FL
Martin-Springer Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
Indiana State Museum, Contemporary Collection, Indianapolis, IN
Arkansas Arts Center, Center for Drawing, Research & Education, Little Rock, AR
Indiana University, Fine Arts Library Artists Books Collection,, Bloomington, IN
Herron School of Art & Design Library, Artists Books Collection, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
Kinsey Institute, Fine Arts Collection, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Included in over 30 private collections in US, Canada and Germany
PORTFOLIO SHARES
— Environment in Flux, CBAA Midwest, 2021
Organized by Mad Moore and Benjamin Reinhart
— In Honor of Bill Steward, 2019
organized by Marnie Powers-Torres
— Mark of Morrison, in Honor of Dave Morrisons retirement, 2019
organized by Meredith Setzer
— 3-D Prints, 2016
organized by Lauren Kussro
— Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, 2015
organized by Catherine Cartwright
— Portfolio in Honor of Garo Antresian, 2013
organized by the Herron School of Art & Design Printmaking Department
— Celebrating 30 Years of Center for Book Arts New York, 2004
organized by Roni Gross
— Collaborative chapbook edition on the occasion of Alberto Casiraghy’s visit to Indiana University, 2000
organized by Paul Brown
PUBLICATIONS
"Spellbound", Craig McDaniel/Jean Robertson, Intellect Books Ldt, 2016
"500 Handmade Books", volume 2, Lark Books, 2015
"Different Horrors, Same Hell", Myrna Goldenberg/Amy Shapiro, University of Washington Press, 2013
article contribution with Björn Krondorfer
"Witnessing and Re-imagining Through the Arts: Meditations on a Dialogical Project", Cross Currents, Vol. 60, No. 4, BORDER CROSSINGS (December 2010), pp pp. 495-514 (20 pages), University of North Carolina Press, article contribution with Björn Krondorfer
"Male Confessions", Björn Krondorfer, Stanford University Press, 2010
Book Cover
"Men and Masculinities in Christianity and Judaism", Björn Krondorfer, SCM Press, 2009
Book Cover
"Zwischen-Raume", Katharina von Kellerbach/Susanne Scholz, Lit Verlag, 2000
Book Cover
"Von Gott reden im Land der Täter", Katharina von Kellerbach/Björn Krondorfer/Norbert Reck, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2001
Book Cover
"Men's Bodies Men's Gods", edited by Björn Krondorfer, New York University Press, 1996
Book Cover