As an abstract artist, she explores issues of line and space through painting and tape installations, drawing inspiration from the surrounding urban landscape. She received a BA in Art History from Swarthmore College, an MFA in Painting from Hunter College, and received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Recent selected exhibition venues include Sydney Non Objective Contemporary Art Projects (Australia), ParisConcret (Paris) and Allegra La Viola, the McKenzie Gallery, and PS1/MoMA (New York City). Karen has also been employed as a painting restorer at Simon Parkes Art Conservation for over twenty-five years.