Photo courtesy of Kara Ziebelman
Kara Ziebelman
Kara Ziebelman
Kara Ziebelman is an artist and visual arts student whose work has colored the Milwaukee and New York art scenes. A student of the prestigious Hunter College, she has recently begun creating artwork for the David Barnett Gallery.
She spoke with the Shepherd Express about her origins as a creative, what persuaded her to study the arts in New
York City, and the genesis of her current work with the Barnett Gallery, among other things.
“I’ve been making art my whole life,” she said. “It was kind of decided by the time I was like 12 or 13 that that was going to be what I was studying and it’s just something I have been compulsively doing for years now.”
Lately, Ziebelman has been working in acrylic, “but other than that,” she continued, “I’ve also been working on watercolor, drawing, sometimes pastels, just all kinds of two-dimensional mediums.”
She is inspired by folk and outsider art. “Those are the main influences,” she said. “I’m really drawn to people who are self-taught artists and raw creators even though I’m receiving an art
education myself.”
Ziebelman mentioned Arpita Singh, Sophia Heymans, and outsider artists such as Henry Darger as influences.
When asked what led her to enroll in Hunter College after she had been contributing to Milwaukee’s art scene, Ziebelman explained, “I needed a place that had a strong liberal arts
program and that was going to teach me different things that would inform my practice, but outside of artmaking itself, there were books I needed to read, papers I needed, and conversations that needed to be had in the classroom in order to become a more articulate, better read artist and I think the CUNY system just does a really good job of providing affordable education. I was a bit older, so having non-traditional students around and having people my age and in their later 20s was really helpful with that as well.”
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What excites her most about being back in Milwaukee? “There are perks to being in a smaller city,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to reconnect with old friends. There are certain things that are more accessible because it is not as expensive as in New
York City.”
When asked what takeaways she learned from New York that she would like to introduce to Milwaukee, Ziebelman said, “I wish there were more open calls in Milwaukee. I want Milwaukee to have a stronger scene with things that are visibly open. It can be a little bit cliquey sometimes.”
Ziebelman walked into the David Barnett Gallery a few months ago and, with Barnett himself happening to be there, showed him her work which led him to offer to represent her.
Asked what she hopes to do through her work, Ziebelman repliedd, “It’s really compulsive for me. I don’t do a lot of pre-planning. I think about the human condition a lot. I think about nature and humanity’s conflict with it. Maybe I’m not the most overtly political of artists, but I believe it’s political to be making art at all.”
Kara Ziebelman’s work can be found on both her Instagram @karaziebelman and her website, karaziebelman.com.
