Artist Statement and CV
Statement
Artist Statement:
My most recent work has been focused on the idea of transformation. Root in relation to place. Where we start, where we end up and everything in-between. My influence comes largely from mid-century modernist work, I have always been drawn to the expressive colors and lines found there. I have an obvious love for cityscapes. City lights and neon colors – I try to capture the busied tension created by so many people in such a small geographic space. An expression of my small town Iowa upbringing that yearned for a larger life.
I studied Anthropology as an undergrad and Public Policy as a graduate student at UNI (Northern Iowa). Anthropology tends to inform much of the work: considering origins of people, places and things, breaking down what is obvious and trying to relate what is strange. I work and read consistently to inform the work I do.
My process evolves, but relies heavily on mark-making and paint-manipulation as the foundation. I spread paint with pieces of chipboard, roll it around with a roller and spray it onto the canvas with squirt bottles. My paint brushes are being used less and less. I work in acrylic paint – bringing in various other mediums as I feel needed. Including: marker, pencil, oil pastel, oil stick, and magazine clippings.
CV
Karl W. Haglund
b. 1972, Wausau, WI
Lives and works in Iowa.
"Karl Haglund not only captures the totemic power of the instruments that he paints, but the detail is so good that it looks like you could pick the damn thing up and play it." - Billy Bragg, musician
EDUCATION:
2010 B.A. Anthropology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls
GALLERY REPRESENTATION:
Gilded Pear Gallery
808 3rd Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
http://www.gildedpeargallery.com/
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2019 Holiday Group Exhibition. Charles City Arts Center - Charles City, Iowa. Nov-Dec
2018 Fresh Paint (Group Exhibition), Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. October 19 - November 23.
2016-18
Ongoing exhibit of guitar art at:
Vintage Vinyl. St Louis, MO
965 Guitars, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Grimeys. Nashville, TN.
Electric Fetus. Minneapolis, MN
Landlocked Music. Bloomington, IN
2015
Untitled - Inspired by Max Beckmann. Charles City Arts Center. Charles City, Iowa. August 7th.
2014 Fifteen Keys - The Guitars of St Louis, KDHX The Stage, St Louis, MO. Featuring artwork based on the guitars of the St Louis music scene.
Ongoing exhibits of guitar series - prints and/or originals:
Vintage Vinyl, St Louis, MO *guitars
Aromas Coffee, Charles City, IA
Coffee Cat, Mason City, IA *guitars
2013 Bucktown Arts Fest, Chicago, ILL
Artafest, Charles City, IA
Iconic Guitars by Karl Haglund, Coffee Cat, Mason City, IA
2012 Vintage Vinyl Guitar Show, Vintage Vinyl, St Louis, MO
Featured Artist - Art on Broadway, Albert Lea Art Center, Albert Lea, MN
Featured Artist - All work, Coffee Cat, Mason City, IA.
Featured Artist - All work, Coffee Attic, Iowa Falls, IA
2011 The Hammon and the Beans, Charles City Art Center, Charles City, IA
Bibliography:
2019 Charge Magazine, Issue 1, Welcome To The Disruption. An Interview With Karl Haglund
https://chargemag.org/issueno1/2019/3/25/interview-with-karl-haglund
2014 Ashley Miller, Paintings Turn Cool Licks Into Sweet Pics, Mason City Globe Gazzette. June 22, 2014
Allison Babka, Painter Karl Haglund Brings St. Louis Musicians' Guitars to Life On Canvas, St Louis Riverfront Times. October 8, 2014
- also -
Artist Karl Haglund Shares Stories Behind Paintings for Billy Bragg, Ryan Adams & STL Musicians. October 9, 2014
Joe Roberts, Interview, With talk of setting his own work on fire and scatological insights into Picasso's work, Karl Haglund casually defies the persona of the stuffy and elite artist. KDHX.org. Oct 8, 2014
2012 Something You Said, Interview, www.somethingyousaid.com http://somethingyousaid.com/2012/08/20/karl-haglund-talks- art-and-guitars/
Editors Pick, GO St Louis!, St Louis Post-Dispatch, Vintage Vinyl Art Show and Print Kickoff, October
Andrea Pendergrast, The Product of Imagination, Art Is For Everyone, Charles City Press, January 17, 2012
H Fender Jaguar του Kurt Cobain και άλλες ιστορικές κιθάρες, Oneman Online Magazine, Greece
http://www.oneman.gr/keimena/diaskedash/sto_rafi/h-fender-jaguar-toy- kurt-cobain-kai-alles-istorikes-kithares.2073236.html
PROFESSIONAL:
2012-2015: Vice President, Charles City Arts Council, Charles City, IA