Lisa Karrer

Lisa Karrer is an interdisciplinary artist who was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In her early teens, she was a scholarship student at the Studio Arena Theatre. Karrer attended SUNY Buffalo as a theatre major in the mid-70’s, and for several years made her living as a professional actor, before moving to New York City.

Since then, Karrer has forged an international career in live performance, composition, video and installation. The New Yorker calls her “a one-woman wonder.” She creates narrative-based works that offer multiple visual, audio and sensory environments to the viewer, conceptual portals into what she calls warm technology. Karrer approaches technology as a tangible, hands-on practice, aiming to enhance and emphasize, rather than obscure, the human condition in the digital age. Her projects are inspired and motivated by focused studies of literature, non-fiction, historic and current events, examining topics such as cultural migration, altruism, evolutionary science, dissociative behavior, and global myths and archetypes. Karrer’s art practice includes and combines vocal narratives and electronic sound design, musical composition, video (including green-screen), hand-built ceramics, screen-printing and pastel drawings. She collaborates with a wide range of artists and ensembles, on her projects as well as theirs. She is also a visiting artist and professor, facilitating workshops and lecturing on topics such as the theory of Hauntology, the History of Politics and Performance, Cultural Anthropology, and the Art of Installation. Karrer holds an MFA in Digital and Interdisciplinary Arts Practice from The City College of New York. She is thrilled to install her newest project, SHELTER, at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.