Karen Vournakis: Retrospective

In January of 2024, we lost a dear friend and Redux Studio Artist, Karen Vournakis. This Friday, April 18, from 5-8pm, Redux is honored to partner with her family to host a retrospective of her work.

Karen’s work was ever-evolving. Starting as a painter, she moved to printmaking before turning to photography as her primary medium in the early 70s with the gift of a Nikon from her husband, John. In 1995, she and John moved to Charleston where she opened her own gallery that included both a retail space and workspace. Eight years later, she moved her darkroom into her home and joined the Waterfront Gallery, and in 2017 became a Redux Studio Artist as well as a member of the Halsey Institute board of advisors.

In Karen’s most recent work, she used her gelatin silver print photography from travels in the 70s and 80s and meticulously recolored the images by hand using the colors to re-remember and re-observe her black and white photography from around the world. She showed her audience a new way of viewing familiar scenes through these manipulations and perspectives from behind the lens.

I always enjoyed getting to visit with her when she was in her studio at Redux. She was a warm soul who was always keen to discuss visual art of all mediums. Over a year since she left us, we still miss her deeply. We know that she’ll be smiling down on us as we celebrate her life and her work.

Her work is represented in the public collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris, France); the Griffin Museum of Photography (Boston. MA), the Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY); the Erie Museum (Erie PA); the Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University (Hamilton NY), Albion College Art Department Collection (Albion, MI) and in private collections of Kidder Peabody & Co. Inc (New York, NY); Atlantic Mutual Co. (Madison NJ), Fidelity Management & Research (Boston & London), The Bank of Woodstock, Woodstock VT, the Preserve @ Indigo Run (Hilton Head, SC), and Roper St. Francis Hospital, Charleston SC.

Please join us this Friday from 5-8pm for the opening reception of Karen Vournakis: A Retrospective. Even if you didn’t know her, we invite you to view her incredible work, explore her evolution as an artist, and have the opportunity to hear her speak through her phenomenal catalogue of work.