Author: Kara Maria

Recology: The Art of Recycling Exhibition Talk and Reception

Join KALW to experience a special viewing and exhibition talk for Recology: The Art of Recycling, selections from Recology’s Artist in Residence Program. Join artists Jane Kim and Kara Maria for a conversation with Deborah Munk, manager of the Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence (AIR) program at KALW’s live event studio at 220 Montgomery. Come early to view works by Kim, Maria, and several other visual artists currently on view in the Mills Building and stay for a lively, climate week discussion. It’s all part of KALW Earth Month, live at 220 Montgomery.

For 35 years, the Recology Artist in Residence Program has supported Bay Area artists. As part of the Sustainability Education Program, the four-month residency provides a rich and immersive environment for artists to develop their practice while deeply engaging with sustainability and community outreach.

​Since 1990, over 190 professional artists and 60 student artists from local universities and colleges have completed residencies. These emerging, mid-career, and established artists have worked across disciplines to explore themes of waste, resourcefulness, and ecological responsibility.

Reception: Thursday, April 24, 5-6pm

Panel Discussion: Thursday, April 24, 6-7:30pm

Click here for information and tickets.

The Mills Building, 220 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104

(image: DETAIL: Mika, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 72 inches, 2015, Collection of Recology, San Francisco, CA)

NEW SUNS: Resist & Rejoice

If you’re looking for an opportunity to purchase my work and support a Bay Area arts organization doing radical things for our community, get your tickets to NEW SUNS: Resist & Rejoice, Southern Exposure’s benefit art auction. The event will take place on Friday, April 18 at Southern Exposure. Southern Exposure is facing significant economic uncertainty in this shifting landscape for nonprofits and art spaces. As a community, we must hold these spaces for open communication, risk taking, and experimentation. Check out my work and art from over 130 other celebrated artists. Get your tickets at www.soex.org/auction.  

Preview Exhibition: Saturday, March 29 – Thursday, April 17, 2025

Auction Main Event: Friday, April 18, 6pm

Southern Exposure, 3030 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

415-294-0692

(image: At Sight of Sun (lark bunting), color lithograph on Rives BFK paper, 30 x 22 inches, 2022, Published by Shark’s Ink., Lyons, CO)

Overlapping Histories: Art on Market Street Poster Series, 1992-Present

A retrospective showcase commemorating over three decades of artistic commissions.

“For over 30 years, the Art on Market Street Poster Series has transformed San Francisco’s main thoroughfare into an open-air gallery, making contemporary art created by local artists accessible to the public,” said Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs. “The 2025 poster series is a powerful retrospective that allows us to not only honor the artists who have helped shaped this program but also uplifts the stories and voices that have come to define our city.”  

The curated selection of archived commissioned works will be presented in three groupings throughout the year, based on the themes of “People, Places, and Things.”  

The first group of ten posters is focused on the theme of “People” and will be displayed at 15 SFMTA transit shelters through June 2025. 

Market Street between 7th and Steuart Streets, San Francisco, CA

415-252-2266

www.sfartscommission.org

(image: Boom Town, digital print on Tyvek, 2003, Project of the San Francisco Arts Commission)

Digital catalog to accompany the first show at The Floating Museum on the Barge by the Hall Art and Technology Foundation.

Please view the catalog by clicking here.

Exhibition continues until Summer 2025. You can book an appointment to tour show here.

Hall Art and Technology Foundation, 2517 Blanding Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501

www.hallartandtechnologyfoundation.com

(image: Who Watches the Watchers?, 46 x 46 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2011, Collection of Hall Art and Technology Foundation, Alameda, CA)

Kara Maria – Precious and Precarious

Episode 16 of the environmental podcast Chrysalis with John Fiege is a conversation about my endangered species paintings.

www.chrysalispodcast.org

(image: Detail of Every Murmur Becomes a Wave, (gray wolf), acrylic on canvas, 46 x 56 inches, 2019, Private Collection, Pacific Grove, CA)

New lithograph 2024

It was wonderful to return to Shark’s Ink. in Lyons, CO to make another lithograph.

Here is a snapshot of the Trial Proof (TP). Print features an endangered northern leopard frog – my third print with a Colorado animal.

Shark’s Ink., 550 Blue Mountain Road, Lyons, CO 80540

303-823-9190

(image: Inside the Blue Sky (northern leopard frog), color lithograph, 22 x 27.5 inches, 2024, edition of 20, Shark’s Ink., Lyons, CO)

Prints & Drawings department acquisitions

I’m thrilled to have both my 2022 and 2023 lithographs from Shark’s Ink. added to MFAH’s permanent collection.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005

713-639-7300

(image: Under Simple Stars, (Great Basin silverspot butterfly), 30 x 22 inches, color lithograph, 2023, Shark’s Ink., Lyons, CO)

Permanent Collection Acquisition

My 2010 painting Safari was added to the permanent collection of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

310-277-5321

tours@weismanfoundation.org

(image: Safari, 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2010)

Artist Interview: In Conversation with Kara Maria

July 9, 2024 – December 31, 2025

Article with images and text about me and my endangered species series.

Mark Moore Fine Art, on ARTSY, Los Angeles, CA

310-266-2283

info@markmoorefineart.com

www.markmorefineart.com

(image: Detail of Stargazer, (Great Basin silverspot butterfly), 40 x 32 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2024)

A short interview titled Meet Kara Maria – Artist is available on ShoutoutLA as part of The Decision Makers Series: Inspiration.

Published January 15, 2024, Los Angeles, CA.

shoutoutla.com

(image: Kara Maria, 2022, photo courtesy of de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, CA)

de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

January 28 – June 10, 2022

• squarecylinder.com, “Jaimie Baron on Kara Maria”, by Jaimie Baron, April 16, 2022

• The Santa Clara, “Kara Maria’s Abstract World of Endangered Animals”, by Matthew Lallas, February 4, 2022

• metroactive, “Kara Maria at De Saisset Museum”, by Grace Stetson, January 26, 2022

(image: installation view, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, 2022)

“The Nature Conundrum”

by David M. Roth, June 2, 2021 on Squarecyliner.com

Review of recent solo exhibition Regarding Extinction at Anglim/Trimble.

“…hard-hitting…and most relevant.”

Read the full review

(image: Installation view, Regarding Extinction at Anglim/Trimble, San Francisco, 2021)

Le Galeriste offers face masks, t-shirts, tote bags, leggings, and more, featuring images from my paintings.

All products made in Montréal, QC, Canada

www.legaleriste.com/kara.maria

(image: me wearing Cloud Nine face mask, scarf, and dress from Le Galeriste)

The Billboard Creative is a non-profit organization that turns billboards into public art sites. An image of my painting Kaleidoscope Eyes was featured on a 12 x 24 foot billboard at North Fairfax Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, CA from February to March, 2020.

www.thebillboardcreative.com

(image: billboard installed in West Hollywood, CA, 2020 (Kaleidoscope Eyes, (green sea turtle), 2017, 26 x 26 inches, acrylic on canvas))