Sea Change: The Art of Karen Hackenberg

Karen Hackenberg’s art features a playful yet thought-provoking taxonomy of imagined postconsumer sea creatures. Using traditional mediums such as oil and gouache, she meticulously transforms beach trash into captivating visual narratives. Her work creates a striking juxtaposition between form and idea, encouraging viewers to reflect on the environmental impact of human activity.

Hackenberg focuses on manufactured bits of detritus – plastic bottles, cans, toys – that she finds on the beaches near her home in Port Townsend, WA, in this one-person exhibition of approximately 40 works. Images of flotsam are included in her detailed compositions and the resulting artworks often portray beach trash as monumental within the seascape, serving as powerful metaphors for the vast scale of marine pollution.

In addition to her solo exhibition, Hackenberg’s work has been featured in numerous shows, including Tacoma Art Museum’s Northwest Art Now, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, the U.S. traveling Environmental Impact show, Neo-Naturalist at Museum of Northwest Art, Stilleven: Contemporary Still Life at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, and Beneath the Surface: Rediscovering a World Worth Conserving at A.A.A.S. headquarters in Washington, DC.

Her works can be found in several private and public collections, including the New York State Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Washington State Art Collection, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Inspired by the artist’s vibrant expressions of environmental concern, TAM is using the mounting of Sea Change as the impetus to reconsider sustainability in its own practices. Programming for Sea Change is motivated by Hackenberg’s work and community partners using art as a conduit for climate action.

Sea Change: The Art of Karen Hackenberg is generously supported by Tacoma Creates, ArtsFund, and our wonderful Tacoma Art Museum Members.

Going Places I, 2016
Floating World Painting Series
oil on textured panel
10 x 10
Patricia Rovzar Gallery