Using fabric, Karin Olah works in a manner that mimics the flow of paint from a brush. Intricately cut, placed, and pasted textiles are combined with gouache, acrylic, and graphite to create paintings that are deep in color and texture.
From a small-town upbringing in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, her interest in Amish quilts and textile traditions led her to study Fiber Art at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. For several years following art school, Karin managed a textile studio in New York City, developing colors and patterns for clients, including Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, and Peter Marino Interior Architects.Now applying her fabric know-how to the realm of painting, Karin exhibits her collage art in solo and group shows up and down the East Coast.
Karin is the 2015 recipient of the Griffith/Reyburn Lowcountry Artist of the Year Award.
Her work has been featured in American Contemporary Art, Art Business News, Charleston Style and Design, and Charleston Magazine, on the covers of Black and White: Birmingham’s City Paper and Carolina Arts, and as the image for the Charleston Farmers Market 2006 and 2007 posters and street banners. Corporate Collections include pieces in the Carolina Contemporary Collection of MUSC Ashley River Towers, Citadel College, City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, and Shoestring Publishing Company. She is a former board member of Redux Contemporary Art Center. Karin is the Client Happiness Officer for www.ArtBizCoach.com.
Karin recently returned home to Charleston after enjoying a few years of Rocky Mountain living in Boulder, Colorado. When not painting in her cottage studio on James Island, Karin is playing dress-up with her 2 young daughters, chasing after Joby the Labradoodle, and dancing to bluegrass music with the love-of-her-life Craig Knowlton.
