A Deep Conversation With Artist Karina Cunningham

To learn more about Karina and her work, visitINSTAGRAM /​ karina_whitneyKarina Cunningham is an emerging black artist residing in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her art focuses on deconstructing and reconstructing traumatic events from her realities and surroundings through toys, balloons and surrealist landscapes. Many of Karina’s works touch deeply on topics that have sculpted her reality as a black queer person such as rape, assault, political violence, abuse, depression, anxiety, racism and adulthood. While these topics can be triggering and tough to convey, Karina works to use children’s toys, balloons and other nostalgic or natural surrealist influences to offset the weight of each painting. Her art is designed to create a piece that can be multi-dimensional. Some parts of her art can be seen as fun or beautiful to viewers who are unable to see or have not experienced the harder aspects of the painting. While also being a painting capable of conveying the traumatic or tough experience behind each piece. Her goal is to create an expressive outlet that can be accessible and connective to all viewers without forcing an experience or interpretation.