“My mission as an artist is to explore women’s paths toward equality while weaving my own story into the larger human narrative. I use layered textures, symbolic materials, and luminous finishes to express both fragility and strength, revealing the grace that exists alongside struggle.”
KAREN FIKE
BIO & c.v.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Karen Fike is a Chicago-based visual artist whose atmospheric acrylic and mixed-media paintings explore memory, resilience, transformation, and the quiet strength of women. Through layered surfaces, symbolic imagery, and luminous glazes, she creates evocative works that invite viewers to look beyond the visible and discover the stories that lie beneath.
Rather than painting portraits of specific individuals, Fike uses women as a visual language, exploring unseen truths, hidden histories, and enduring beauty that connect us all. Her intuitive process combines acrylic, texture, handwritten fragments, metallic accents, and transparent layers, creating paintings that shift with changing light and reward repeated viewing.
Fike earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, in Theater and Scenic Art from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her background in scenic painting, interior design, and home staging informs her distinctive sense of composition, atmosphere, and spatial storytelling.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including with Artbox Projects at the New York Art Expo, Woman Made Gallery, WMOCA, and numerous juried exhibitions throughout the United States. Her paintings have supported organizations including Planned Parenthood and DIFFA through charitable exhibitions and fundraising events, reflecting her belief that art can inspire both reflection and meaningful conversation.
Karen Fike's work can be found in private collections across the United States. She lives and works in the Chicago area, where she continues to develop her evolving body of work, Serpents & Saints.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Karen Fike
Painter
b. 1969, New York, USA
Lives and works in Chicago, Illinois
📧 karen@karenfikeart.com
🌐 karenfikeart.com
📞 773-710-9556
Education
University of Texas at Arlington
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cum Laude, 1992
Professional Memberships
Evanston Arts Council
Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists
Chicago Artists Coalition
Woman Made Gallery
Professional Experience
Scenic Artist & Visual Artist | 1987–Present
Philanthropy
DIFFA / Art for Life Chicago
2025 “Shedding My Skin” & “Dream Child” Donation Paintings
Jurors: Amy Kartheiser (Amy Kartheiser Design), Peter Gahan (Detroit Art Specialists)
2024 “Pride” Donation Painting
Jurors: Amy Kartheiser (Amy Kartheiser Design), Peter Gahan (Detroit Art Specialists)2023 “Fcking Fabulous”* Donation Painting
Jurors: Amy Kartheiser, Peter Gahan
Group Exhibitions
2025
Small Works Exhibition – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Radiance – Sergio Gomez, Curator, 215 Gallery, Evanston, IL
Dream Child – Sergio Gomez, Curator, 33 Contemporary, Palm Beach, FL
2024
Resilience – Sergio Gomez & Drew Harris, Curators, Artsy (Virtual Exhibition)
Glorious Point – Deanna Gibson, Curator, Juliet’s, Joliet, IL
Awakening Earth: Narratives of Spring – Sergio Gomez, Curator, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL
Preposterous: The Absurdity of Dada – Juried Exhibition, 116 Gallery, St. Charles, IL
2023
Artbox.Project Miami Art Basel – Miami, FL
Chromatic Convergence – Sergio Gomez, Curator, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL
Rhythm, Color & Movement: Seeing the Music – Juried Exhibition, 116 Gallery, St. Charles, IL
Sixth Midwest Open – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Artbox.Project Zurich 5.0 – Swiss Art Expo, Zurich, Switzerland
Artbox.Project Basel 2.0 – Basel-Mulhouse, Switzerland
Artbox.Project New York Art Expo 2.0 – Manhattan, NY
Odyssey – Juried Virtual Exhibition, Influx Gallery, London, UK
Unbroken – Juried Exhibition, 116 Gallery, St. Charles, IL
Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art – National Juried Exhibition, Wausau, WI
Roe 2.0 – It Ain’t Over Yet – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Artistry of Beauty – 116 Gallery, St. Charles, IL
Live Painting
2023 Fighting Forward: Freedom for Every Body –
Planned Parenthood Illinois Political Winter Fundraiser
Co-Chairs: U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth & Dick Durbin
Public Art
2024 Love is the Answer, Joliet-Downtown Music Box Project, Joliet, IL
Public art program in collaboration with the Joliet City Center Partnership, the City of Joliet, and the Joliet Arts Commission, partially funded by an Illinois Arts Council Grant. Selected artists created site-specific works inspired by music and installed on utility boxes throughout downtown Joliet, linking each piece via QR code to the artist’s inspiration and story.
2023 Rocking Love and Hope in Joliet –
8-Foot Painted Guitar Sculpture, Ready2Rock Joliet Public Art Exhibit
Permanent Installation: Joliet Area Historical Museum
Publications
2024 Four-Page Artist Feature-Create Magazine Issue 45
2023 Two-Page Artist Feature – SuboArt Magazine
2023 You Don’t Own Me – ArtsyShark Artist Showcase
2023 No Apologies – ArtsyShark Artist Showcase
Private Collections
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Maui, HI
Galveston, TX
Chicago, IL