Karen Hampton

Karen Hampton is an internationally recognized conceptual artist, addressing issues of colorism and kinship within the African American community.  She is recognized as both a literal and figurative storyteller who weaves together both the textures and colors of the ancient world with that of an imagined future.  Material and imagery are part of the methodology she uses to accesses her ancestral and personal heritage. Using her training in the fiber arts and anthropology, she synthesizes the role of weaver with that of griot storyteller. Her art practice easily flows between different materials and fiber surfaces to complete each story. Hampton is interested in both private and public art commissions.

In 2022, Hampton was named Fellow of the American Craft Council. Her artwork is held in the collections of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, and the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii.  In 2008, Hampton received the coveted Eureka Prize from the Fleishhacker Foundation.  Hampton was an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, Massachusetts and is the Vice-President of the Textile Society of America.