Sumi-e (soo-me eh’) artist, Karen Kurka Jensen, presented 13 ink brush paintings in the Museum’s Kris Mozena McNamer Gallery. Karen is a nationally recognized sumi-e artist from Minnesota who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Sumi-e is the ancient art of East Asian brush painting that originated in China thousands of years ago. The technique of sumi-e is related to calligraphy. It is characterized by an economy of strokes and tonal variations. Karen studied the technique for over 10 years under the guidance of Susan Frame and Susan Christie and has evolved her imagery into a new American-style sumi-e that uses traditional tools, called the Four Treasures: Japanese inks, bamboo brushes, grinding stone, and Asian rice paper.