"I collect stuff: old stuff, rusted and broken stuff. I hunt for stuff in garage sales, thrift shops and flea markets. I have been known to dumpster dive and pick my neighbor's trash. My studio is floor-to-ceiling stuff waiting to be rediscovered and reinvented. It is fun taking things apart (I got into trouble in junior high when I took my clarinet apart) and reassembling the pieces into something new.

My work is intuitive - the objects themselves suggest what they will be. At this juncture my motif is "people" - strange, humorous, offbeat people. I combine dissimilar objects to form a recognizable, if fictional, whimsical and sometimes outrageous sculpture. By using unrelated objects I hope to make the viewer examine and re-examine, to be surprised and amused - to have the "aha" moment as she recognizes the objects out of context. The dissimilar pieces are joined with screws, rivets, solder, welds, and rarely -- heaven forbid! -- glue, and for the most part, retain their original patina.

With my collage I am playing with perspective, pushing and pulling objects forward and back out of their natural relationship to one another. I want the viewer to look twice to see the inconsistency even though the areas and colors blend seamlessly and flow into each other making a subtle whole.

The collage is flat and constructed mainly of magazine papers. The larger areas are dry mounted, smaller pieces are glued. I use a protective spray or UV plexiglas as the final step.

Assemblage and collage are similar in that they entail using parts of many things and rearranging them into a finished piece."

Karen Gallup, 2008

Karen Gallup is represented by the Belstone Gallery in Traverse City, Michigan. Her work has been shown at Flatlander Gallery, the Washington Street Gallery, the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Chelsea Art Center, the Midland Center for the Arts, Holland Arts Council, Art Center of Battle Creek and several venues with the Ann Arbor Women Artists.

Gallup has a BFA from Michigan State University and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Metalsmithing. She taught Art Education at Delta College (University Center, MI), was a Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, MI), and an adjunct at Eastern Michigan University in Jewelry and Metalsmithing (Ypsilanti, MI). Over the years, she has studied papermaking, wood turning, basket making, jewelry, and metalwork at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and explored blacksmithing, welding, wood block printing, and paper lithography in other venues.

She is a member of the Michigan Silversmiths Guild, and the Ann Arbor Women Artists, where she is Program Chair.

Born in Midland, Michigan, she lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, cat and dog.

EDUCATION:
-Michigan State University, BFA 1963
-Cranbrook Academy of Art, MFA 1967

EMPLOYMENT:
-College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan: Professor and Section Chair, Jewelry & Metalsmithing, 1974 –1992
-Eastern Michigan University: Continuing Education Instructor, 1993-1995

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
-AAWA at Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI, June 2008, Award: first place
-AAWA Juried Spring Show, March 2008
-"People & Places", four person exhibit, Chelsea Center for the Arts, Nov. 2007
-AAWA Board at The Flint Institute of Art, January 2008
-AAWA at Gifts of Art, January 2008, Award: second place
-"The 44th Juried Fine Art Competition", Holland Art Center, Holland, MI, September 2007
-"27th Annual Michigan Artists Competition", Battle Creek, MI, June 2007. Award: Best 3-D Work
-AAWA at Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI, June 2007
-"Karen Gallup", Flatlander Gallery, Blissfield, MI, May 2007
-Michigan Silversmiths Guild, "Jewelry + Objects", April 2007
-Ann Arbor Art Center "Members Only", juried exhibition, April 2007
-Ann Arbor Women Artists " Spring Juried Exhibit", March 2007
-"75th Anniversary All Media Exhibition", Detroit Artists Market, January 2007
-Recycled Friends: Found Object Assemblage Sculpture of Karen Gallup, Gifts of Art Ann Arbor, MI, October 2006
-"A Motley Affair", group show - invitational, Space 237, Toledo, Ohio, October 2006
-"46th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition" Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, September 2006
-"Paintings and People'' Bill Allen, Karen Gallup and Marcia Hales, Belstone Gallery, Traverse City, MI, Sept. 2006
-"Karen Gallup Sculpture" Little Gallery, Firelands College Bowling Green State University, August 2006
-"12 + 12", Washington Street Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI, June 2006
-"Art at the Library" Brighton, MI, Karen Gallup and John Mazurkiewicz, June 2006
-AAWA Summer Show at Eaglecrest, Ypsilanti, MI, July 2006
-"Transformations" invitational, Ann Arbor Art Center, June 2006
-AAWA Board at The Ann Arbor Art Center, March 2006
-AAWA Spring Juried Show, Ann Arbor District Library, March 2006
-AAWA Fall Juried Show. Gifts of Art, U of M Hospital, October 2005, Award: Second place
-"Face Value" Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, NC: October 2005
-"Our Town" Community House, Birmingham, MI: October 2005
-"2005 Greater Michigan Art Exhibition", Midland, MI: October 2005
-First Frontier Collage Society Annual Open Exhibition, Austin, Texas: September 2005
-"Gallup – Wolff – Eldean – Barkey", Ann Arbor Art Center Exhibition Gallery: July 2005
-AAWA at Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI: June 2005
-"Lure of the Local", River Gallery, Chelsea, MI: June 2005
-AAWA Spring Juried Exhibit, Ann Arbor, MI: March 2005, Award: Honorable Mention
-"Wings, Tails, Hooves & Scales", OVMA, Columbus, Ohio: February 2005
-AAWA Autumn Exhibition 2004, Ann Arbor, MI: November Award: First Place
-"Greater Michigan Art Exhibition", Midland, MI: July 2004
-AAWA at Eaglecrest, Ypsilanti, MI: January 2004
-"2003 Greater Michigan Art Exhibition", Midland, MI: September 2003
-"CCAD-Artists Helping Artists", exhibition Ann Arbor Library: 2003
-"Ann Arbor Women Artists Fall Exhibition 2002", Gifts of Art, U of M Hospital
-"Jewelry and Objects", Michigan Silversmiths Guild at the Ann Arbor Art Center: May 2003
-"Views", invitational, Michigan Guild Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI: Dec. 2002
-" A Room of Your Own", Michigan Guild Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI: August 2002
-"A 2": Ann Arbor Art Center Invitational: July 2002
-"Metalworks", Gifts of Art, U of M Hospital: April - June 2002
-"New Gallery", Invitational, Ann Arbor Art Center: October 2001
-"WTC: Reactions", Michigan Guild Gallery, Ann Arbor: October 2001
-"Holiday Show", Washington Street Gallery, Ann Arbor: November 2000
-Menorah Invitational, Jewish Federation of Detroit: November 2000


SIGNIFICANT COMMISSIONS:
-Memorial Windows, First United Methodist Church, Midland, Michigan. 1966 to 2001, 166 windows

PROFESSIONAL:
-Co-chair Programs, Ann Arbor Women Artists: 2006 - present
-Co-chair Social Committee, Ann Arbor Women Artists: 2003 to 2006
-Vice President and Program Chair, Michigan Silversmiths Guild: 1991 to 2001

WORK FEATURED IN:
-"Art Showcase" magazine May/June 2006
-"Windows to the Soul", book on the memorial windows of the First United Methodist Church, Midland Michigan, published by the Church, January 2005