PaperCity Magazine

March 2016 - Houston

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MARCH | PAGE 68 | 2016 the chimney. The living room fills with this sweet sound and lovely vibe. Very soulful. I especially love seeing my dog laying cozily by the fireplace … It's magic. And, if that weren't enough, every hour the bells toll from a nearby church. And another church plays chimes." The airy interiors are layered with Karll's artworks, as well as a well-edited collection by other artists she admires, and the couple's antiques. It also informs its owner's art-making. Karll believes living here brings a lightness to her work. "If I am struggling or having a problem with a piece at my studio, I'll bring it home," she says. "It gives me a new perspective. I instantly get a feel for it, and it becomes me … I love working in my home. I draw and paint in the kitchen with my dog, Hudson, by my side." Karll is looking forward to fresh directions in her career. Recently, she created a new series of sculptures that reference our fraying ecology. In a little nook off the living room stands the sculpture, On Ice. "It's a statement about how fragile nature is," she says. "It's both personal and environmental, addressing our own vulnerability and the effects of climate change." Karll still basks in the thrill of realizing a lifelong dream — showing her work in India, via a group exhibition of Texas artists at the National Art Academy in New Delhi that opened in January 2015 — on the heels of an introspective career-spanning solo at the Jung Center the year before. Now she's making her most profound work yet. Quiet, sculptural, diminutive and intimate, it's drawn interest from a few prominent Houston gallerists, but the intensely private Karll won't say more than that. Like the air of mystery that envelopes both this artist and her house, more will be revealed … in good time. Hudson at the gate. "He's three years old, and although he's a champion he outgrew the dimensions eligible for dog shows," Karll says. In the entry, a Spanish antique corner chair from Hal's family, topped by a pillow from Indulge. Carved wooden cross from Taos. Bathroom fixtures from Settlers. The artist wittily reworked a plaster sculpture into a towel rack. The master bedroom, dressed in coverlet, sheets and pillows from Indulge. The antique hand-loomed tapestry is a family heirloom. Karll's Giacometti-esque, 9-foot bronze Tree Being, 1995 (reworked 2015), in a shady spot in the garden. The artist's recent On Ice, 2016, formed from papier-mâché, plaster, resin and wire, makes an environmental statement.

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