Thee chauntress, oft the woods among I woo, to hear thy evensong.
Milton, Penseroso, 1631
“Evensong” is a peaceful meditation on aging — the slow but inevitable flow of life and the often hard-won freedom to float or soar. Karen Kalkstein’s figures are made using Japanese papers with textures reminiscent of aged skin. Her immersive installation combines elements of line drawing and sculpture. The figures move toward and way from each other as the air in the room circulates.
Kalkstein, who lives in Stamford, Connecticut, says of her figures, “They are ethereal and nude to express a vulnerable, honest kind of beauty. Visitors occupy the same space as the figures, walk among them, become one of them. We are all in this life together. Through this work I rethink attitudes and perceptions of old age, and find wisdom, dignity, self-knowledge, and freedom in all stages of life.”
