Karen Nachtigall was born in Fresno, California.  During her studies in high school and college she played volleyball. While in college Karen took every opportunity to study abroad focusing on art and culture in Europe, Central America, and Japan.  She received her B.A. in Art and a B.A. in Spanish from Fresno Pacific University in 2002.  In September 2009 when Gallery 25 celebrated its 35th anniversary of female artists, Karen was honored as one of eight female “Emerging Artists”.  Karen completed her M.A. in Art at California State University Fresno in 2012. Her installation “Syncope” was on view at the Conley Art Gallery.

Karen resides in Chicago where she recently completed her MFA in Sculpture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  As a devoted yogi she is honored to instruct this ancient practice helping herself and students find peace and freedom in their bodies.  In her art practice she explores themes related to the body, interventions, and social issues that lie in between by working on projects that focus on phenomenological affect in the body and the relationship between a person and a corporation.  The installation “Peristalsis” was the culmination of her studio practice and was exhibited at the MFA Show at SAIC Sullivan Galleries.  She was chosen as one of 8 semi-finalists for the 2014 Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust Scholar and Fellow Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.