Karena Karras is a Chicago-born surrealist artist and graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work draws inspiration from classical mythology, Jungian psychology, dreams, and the transformative possibilities of the imagination.

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Karras was a close friend of renowned surrealist painter Leonora Carrington during Carrington's time in Oak Park, Illinois, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her paintings reflect an affinity with the surrealist traditions of Carrington and Remedios Varo while expressing her own distinctive artistic vision.

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Her work frequently centers on enigmatic figures and symbolic imagery, exploring themes of transformation, the unconscious, and the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds. Human forms are often metamorphosed or placed in mysterious, dreamlike settings. Elements of mythology and alchemy appear throughout her paintings, lending them a sense of mystery and psychological depth.

 

Female figures, sometimes wearing masks or possessing birdlike features, are recurring subjects in her work. Karras paints with meticulous attention to detail, using fine brushes and multiple layers of glaze to create richly luminous surfaces.

 

Her paintings and drawings are held in private and public collections, including art museum collections in the United States and Western Europe.