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Nine Paintings, July 2025

by Carrie Beene

Carrie graduated from the Kansas City Art institute. The shaping of her imagery began in those early years through trial and error. A peek into the multimedia abstracts on paper was already beginning.

Moving to New York City after graduation, Carrie spent several years immersed in her artwork, exploring the mood of 1980’s New York. Carrie’s art was included in multiple shows in new and emerging East Village NYC galleries. She caught the eye of the art world and was gifted 6 months in Julian Schnabel’s studio while he was out of the country. Several very large canvases were the result.

In 1989 Carrie moved to Haiti remaining there developing a new vision of rhythm and color over a period of 12 years. She returned to NY and created a digital art presence in addition to continuing with analogue artwork in her old East Village neighborhood.

After years of obsessive experimentation mixing materials, she arrived at her unique multimedia works on paper that you see today. Starting with charcoal powder Carrie found ways to adhere it to surfaces with dark drying oil, a type of painters’ medium. Having success with the charcoal she added raw pigment powders in myriad colors bought from a pigment store serendipitously next door to her studio. The media is layered with each other to create the textural interlacing of oil, water, powder and ink, graphite, charcoal and more.

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Tobey Hiller (not verified)

Sat, 07/05/2025 - 9:10pm
These are fantastic, in all ways. Such range. And the mixed materials, amazing.
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Richard Downing (not verified)

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 11:20am
I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing Carrie Been's paintings. She masterfully rides a fine line between the abstract and the real. I recommend staying with each piece for at least a few minutes as each rewards prolonged viewing. I find myself going back to numbers 6 and10 in particular. Unlikely Stories Six is certainly starting strong.
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Richard Downing (not verified)

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 11:21am
I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing Carrie Been's paintings. She masterfully rides a fine line between the abstract and the real. I recommend staying with each piece for at least a few minutes as each rewards prolonged viewing. I find myself going back to numbers 6 and10 in particular. Unlikely Stories Six is certainly starting strong.
  • reply

KK (not verified)

Tue, 07/08/2025 - 3:52am
Brilliant! I'm spending my Tuesday here in the Philippines (it's now late afternoon) with this page open and indulging in Carrie's paintings one by one - again and again. Thank you!
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