BIOGRAPHY
Originally from Pennsylvania, Karin Lusnak worked as a Research Associate in genetics and molecular biology laboratories at the University of California in Berkeley until retiring in 1998.
During this time she developed an interest in textile arts as a student at Pacific Basin School of Textile Arts and eventually received her MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts, now CCA.
She is one of ten artists featured in Charlotte Grossman’s documentary film, “Woman’s Work: Making Quilts – Creating Art”. Her quilt, L’Attitude Bleue, was exhibited by East Bay Heritage Quilters to publicize their quilt show at the Oakland Convention Center in 2010.
PUBLICATIONS, FILM
500 Art Quilts. (Contributing Artist). Published by Lark Books, a Division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York/London in 2010.
L’Attitude Bleue , Cover of the 14th Edition of the Southwest Regional WRBQ, Inc. Quilters Guide & Directory. Published in 2010.
Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolios 12 through 16 (Contributing Artist). 2005- 2009. Published by Studio Art Quilt Associates. Edited by Cheryl Dineen Ferrin.
“Woman’s Work:Making Quilts~Creating Art” Ten Faultline Studio Artists appear in a documentary film produced by Charlotte Grossman. www.womansworkvideo.com
Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, October 2003, Vo. 34, No. 8, pages 42, 43. (Contributing artist).
Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs (Contributing artist). Edited by Jen Bilik. C&T Publishing, 1999.
The Fiber Arts Design Book (Contributing Artist). Published by Fiber Arts Magazine, 1980.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View, CA.
2008 Spiraling Through Memories of Yesterday . The Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford, CA 2004 Members’ Showcase Solo Exhibition . Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA.
2000 Pathways: Work by Karin Lusnak . Fifth Season Gallery, Tracy, CA.
1993 M/OTHER . MFA Exhibition. California College of Arts & Crafts, Door 3 Gallery, Oakland, CA.
COLLECTIONS
Alameda County Art Collection, Alameda County, CA.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018
Artist as Quiltmaker XVIII. May 13 – July 28. Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH.
23rd Arts in Harmony Annual International Show. Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN.
Bay Area Women Artists 2018. Aug. 2 – 23. O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA.
2017-2019
H2Oh! SAQA, June 25 – Sept 19, 2017. National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY; New England Quilt
Museum, Lowell, MA, 2018; Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona, 2019; Museum of
Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA, 2019.
2017
Juncture II: First Biennial Members Exhibition. Nov. 29, 2017 – January 14, 2018. San Jose Museum
of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA.
Fantastic Fibers. April 22 – June 17, 2017. Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY.
2016
On the Fringe, SAQA, Curated by Sandra Sider. June 30 – Sept. 25, 2016. Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, TX.
Inspirations II, Northern California/Northern Nevada SAQA. May 5 – July 3, 2016. San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA.
2015
Strata, Northern California/Nevada SAQA. Harrington Gallery, Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton, CA. Pence Gallery,
2014
Northern California Inspirations, Northern California/Nevada SAQA. San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA.
Sky: A National Juried Exhibition . Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.
2012
Connexions: California-Corsica , Casa Agostino Giafferri, Poggio-di-Venaco, Corsica.
Connexion, 2012 Fiber Exhibition . ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA.
2011
Surfaces, selections from The California Fiber Arts Group . Village Theatre Art Gallery, Danville, CA.
Scrap ART . San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA.
Fiber Optics . California Fiber Artists. Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA.
Fiber Enriched . California Fiber Artists. Eureka Museum of Art, Eureka, CA.
2010
ACCI 2010 National Juried Exhibition . ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA.
2009
“layer upon layer” . California Fiber Artists. Visalia Art Center, 214 E. Oak Avenue, Visalia, CA.
5th Annual California Fiber Arts Exhibit . Santa Cruz Art League, 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz,CA.
2008
I-4 Corridor: Stretching Threads Across Florida . International fiber exhibition presented in partnership with Studio Art Quilt Associates. Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL.
Up in Stitches, work by SAQA members . Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY.
Variations on a Thread: Faultline Studio Artists . Highland Art Center, Weaverville, CA
11th, 37th, 39th, 40th Annual Textile Exhibit. 1979, 2005, ‘07, ‘08. Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Fremont, CA.
2007
The Sky’s the Limit . Special Exhibition at the International Quilt Festival/Houston, Texas. On Tour in 2008 with Quilts, Inc. venues.
Layer Upon Layer: Work by George-Ann Bowers, Jane Burton & Karin Lusnak . Gualala Arts Center, Gualala, CA.
2006
Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Spring 2006 Exhibition. 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.
California Art Quilts at the California Heritage Museum . California Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, CA
2005
REVELations 2005: Contemporary Quilts & Fiber Art from Faultline Studio Artists . Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA.
Juror and invited exhibitor. PIECE: Quilts and Sculptural & Wearable Forms in Fiber . Alameda Art Center, Alameda, CA.
The Fibers of Your Life- Textiles, Fibers and Extreme Quilts . Grants Pass Museum of Art, Grants Pass, Oregon.
Art Quilts X: Xhilarating, Joy in the Making . Chandler Center for the Arts. Chandler, Arizona.
2004
Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts, San Francisco, CA.
Faultline Studio Artists: Art Quilts and Fiber Art . Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA.
The Art of Fine Craft . O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA.
Extreme Quilts National . Grants Pass Museum of Art, Grants Pass, OR.
The Art of Sewing Art . Special exhibit at International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas.
FIBER 2004: Quilts & Sculptural & Wearable Forms Featuring the Faultline Studio Artists .
Alameda Art Center, Alameda, CA.
INNOVATIONS IN FIBER ART II . Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA.
ProArts New Visions: Introductions 2004 . ProArts Gallery, Oakland, CA.
2003
“El Arte De Coser Arte” . Ayuntamiento Cultural de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
“El Arte De Coser Arte” . Museo de America, Madrid, Spain.
Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Summer Exhibition. 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.
2002
Eleven Women Making Art . Faultline Studio Artists. Aalto Gallery. Ashland, OR.
Pacific Rim Sculptors Group Fall Members Show. 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.
2001
A Shared Vision, Contemporary Fiber Art by Faultline Studio Artists . California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA.
Pacific Rim Sculptors Group 2001 Members Exhibition. 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.
Wide Angle, Fine Focus . San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA.
2000
Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs . (Invitational) Exhibition developed with Girls Incorporated of Alameda County, sponsored by Smithsonian Institution
Traveling Exhibition Service. Tour began in 1999. Presented at Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA.
Pacific Rim Sculptors Group 6th Annual Members Exhibition . 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA.
Quilts, Etc. Solo Exhibition. 2000, ’01, ’03. The Berkeley Travel Company, Berkeley, CA.
1998
Dwellings . American Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, CA. (Review: Art Quilt Magazine , #9, p38.)
1997
The Art of Karin Lusnak and Sharon Pearson . The Music Annex, San Francisco, CA.
1994
Masquerade! Portraits in Hiding . Clymer Museum Gallery, Ellensburg, WA.
1985
Threads: Small Scale Textiles . Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA.
1983
Gold Country ‘83 Fine Arts Show. Auburn, CA.
1980
Fiber . Civic Arts Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA.
EXPERIENCE
2013 Guest Speaker and Workshop Instructor, Pajaro Valley Quilt Association, Aptos, CA
2011 – ’13 Board Member. ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA.
2011 Guest speaker and panelist, Art Chat: Contemporary Fiber Art Practices. Nov 16, 2011.
Village Theatre Art Gallery, Danville, CA.
2007 – ‘09 2nd Vice President, Programs Co-Chair, East Bay Heritage Quilters.
2003 – ‘05 Corresponding Secretary, East Bay Heritage Quilters.
1999, 2001,’04, ’06 Guest Artist, quilt construction, Mercy Retirement & Care Center, Oakland, CA.
2002 Guest Artist, Teachers’ Art Workshop Series. Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA.
Story Quilt workshop presented to teachers of children in kindergarten to 6th grade.
2001 – ‘02 Community Liaison, Volunteer Scheduler, East Bay Heritage Quilters.
2000 Lecturer. New Pieces, Berkeley, CA. Workshop: Embossing Fabric.
1999 Quilt Preparator, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
1998 Project Assistant for Women of Taste Quilt Collaboration, Girls Incorporated of
Alameda County, San Leandro, CA.
1998 Guest Lecturer, Arrowsmith Academy, Berkeley, CA. Quilts, History Influence on
American Society.
1994, ‘98 Guest Lecturer, Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education, Beginning – Intermediate Weaving.
1995 Teacher. After School Enrichment Program, Kensington, CA.
Sewing Story Quilts. Curator, exhibition of finished pieces. Café Crayon, Albany, CA.
1993, ‘94 Guest Artist, quilt construction. Bay View Hunter’s Point Adult Day Health
Center, San Francisco, CA. Project funded by California Arts Council.
EDUCATION
1994 Master of Fine Arts. Textiles. California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA). Oakland and San Francisco, CA.
1969 Bachelor of Science. Biology. Northern Illinois University. DeKalb, Illinois.