The Art of Kalika Stern

"Kalika's art is distinguished by a carefree occasionally self mocking humor that she captures in her drawings and paintings.  Her technique, though rooted in Western tradition, employs some of the same elements favored by Oriental artists: a rapidly executed line which delineates form and at the same time captures the essence of the subject, and monochrome which encourages the viewer to become involved in the creative act by allowing him to use his own senses to complete the painting...
 
Ms. Stern is equally at home working in the classical style of a long, horizontal scroll or a gouache of a Baroque Mexican church or colorful Indian market.  There is a spirit of gaiety and humor which emerges from her hands as she explores the world with the eye of a romantic, exposing minor foibles.  A world traveler, she is also widely recognized as a designer, photographer, and expert on folk art, the spirit of which is reflected in her own art...."
...Dr. Penelope Mason, Department of the History of Art,Yale University.

Ms. Stern received a BFA from Pratt Institute, an MA from NYU and an MFA from the Instituto Allende - University of Guanajuato, Mexico, with additional studies at Pratt Graphic Center, Columbia and School of Visual Arts. She is also founder and Executive Director, The Society for Folk Arts Preservation, Inc.
 
Taught art to University students for fifteen years; traveled and painted extensively.  Stern began meditation and contemplation when she studied and photographed folk art in Asia under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1973-74.  In 1978 She was sent by the NY State Department of Education to New Delhi, India to produce a visual journal and a series of paintings.  Her works have been the subject of a number of major exhibitions, included in numerous group shows, and in the collections of museums (Peabody, Harvard; Eugene Boudin, Honfleur, France) and personages (Dr. Margaret Mead, Wm. Louis Dreyfus).  Her distinctions include commendation on an illustrated book, Life Magazine; Awards from San Francisco, Hollywood and NY Art Directors Clubs; A solo exhibit, NJ State Museum.
 
Like the French Impressionists, Kalika Stern prefers to work outdoors, on the spot, "en plein air".  She is known for her paintings of New York City, which she described as "back home paintings" in her wish to achieve the same excitement and romance of her foreign city travels to her everyday life.