The current installation at MDK Law features Kara Djuve, a Springfield based artist who’s work explores nature, the human psyche, dreams/memory, and transformation

934 Gallery – MDK Law Location

Our Current Exhibition

Painting serves as a reflective and restorative practice for me. Through my art, I process my experiences in the natural world and in human relationships, aiming to uncover underlying patterns, desires, and motivations. The work is both imaginative and meditative, with the methodical repetition in my mark-making assisting me in accessing profound emotions with a sense of calm and curiosity. My intention is to convey universal themes such as longing, loss, hope and spiritual inquiry.  

My largest series of paintings, the “dot” paintings, lie in the realm between abstraction and semi-abstraction, employing both smooth, layered color applications and detailed, hand-painted dot patterns. I regularly repurpose unsuccessful figurative works on canvas as grounds, and through the rhythmic buildup of color and dots, I move the imagery toward abstraction. I find joy in transforming something old or uninspiring into something new and bright. Recently I’ve been experimenting with preserving aspects of the underlying figurative composition to highlight contrasts between representation and abstraction. Despite the challenges that painting presents, I find solace in the process of creating something thoughtful, beautiful or strange for others to engage with in their own way.

About the Artist:

Kari Djuve was born in Springfield, PA and is a contemporary artist residing in Columbus, Ohio since 2007.  Kari’s educational background includes undergraduate degrees in Psychology from Connecticut College (1992) and in Drawing from the Oregon College of Art and Craft (1999). Her interests in mysticism and psychology are reflected in her paintings which explore nature, the human psyche, dreams/memory, and transformation.  

Kari has worked as a yoga and meditation instructor for more than a decade, and as an Art instructor at Clintonville Academy (2020-2024) and currently at CCAD.  Kari is a long time student at the Cultural Arts Center where gains inspiration from her friends in the Studio Painting class.  Her work has been selected for numerous group exhibitions around Columbus, including a spot in the 2023-2024 Riffe Gallery Biennial.