Karalla - Bio

25 Random Things About Myself.

1, My mother was engaged to another man when she met my father, I was conceived out of passion.

2, I was born three weeks early, feet first, on the summer solstice, June 21st.

3, Two weeks after my eighth birthday, my father died in a boating accident. A crushing blow, I loved my dad madly.

4, Age nine I met biological mother, she would have had a better chance with me if she lived across the street from my best friend Carmel.

5, Age ten brought the awareness that the adults were crazy, and from that moment on I would make all the decisions about my life.

6, Age twelve, the great custody battle over me, the fight between stepmother and bio-mother (I wanted grandma). I refused both and was placed in a detention center and escaped after five days. After being caught I spent the next five months being creative in planing my escapes, one escape lead to me falling thirty feet, but safely in the mud.

7, After my escape I lived almost on the streets, met the likes of John Sinclair of 'The White Panther Party,' Jane Fonda, the lawyer Don Koster, Iggy Pop, Cocaine Micky and a host of other sorts. Don Koster became my lawyer.

8, Skipped grades 7, 8, 9, and 10 and at the age of fourteen was offered a full paid scholarship to the University of Michigan, but my days of being wild were far from over.

9, Age fifteen moved to NYC. Met an art student that would paint unsigned masters, I told her I could do that, we began a forging partnership... Had my appendix out at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the doctors knew I was not twentyone, but let me sign the consent as an adult to save my life. Was approached by an author that lived on Sutton Place that wanted me to give him all the details of my life, told him I would think about it, but never did. Missed my plane by five minutes, and that plane crashed.

10, Age seventeen was arrested for possession of drugs, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

11, Started classes in Interior Design, my drawing professor said I had the natural ability to understand space and that I should be an Architect, I laughed and said I couldn't even spell the word. Then in the Architectural program, the professors thought I came from an art background, because my head was outside the box.

12, My boyfriend was doing his PhD work in French Renaissance philosophy, to make sure I was loyal to him he had me read his books and would then would quiz me... I read Proust's 'Remembrance of Things Past,' like a job, from 9 to 5.

13, When moving to Paris to live with my boyfriend, I became ill, the doctors gave me less than five years to live and that was twenty years ago...

14, Working as any architectural designer close to that six figure salary, I quit my job. My boss thought I was leaving for the day. At home painting and reading, my roommate was tired of seeing splattered paint all over the apartment and begged for me to do it elsewhere... went to the art students league and ended up with a scholarship.

15, Love fever dreams because I can really see and talk to my dad

16, Went to Greece with my bicycle and found a little village in Create, called Kamilari. Transformed a chicken coop into a home... that was the year I learned how to make a perfect batch of cement and also learned the meaning of the words THIRD WORLD, you can't sell the people stuff they don't need. Wrote a book 'Comprachicoes in the Raw.' MOMA acquired a piece of my work and I spent 6 months trying to buy it back, to no avail.

17, Spent twenty years renovating my NYC home and it is a rental.

18, My early days I worked with paint & mixed media. Then after working with Andres Serrano on 'The interpretation of Dreams,' and 'America,' I moved to the camera...

19, I look back and laugh that this was my life, and still is.....

20, Going Zen.

21, I am a practical Romantic. Only a man with heart can interest me.

22, The greatest gift in life is getting older.

23, Being in my cave where my mind can travel without stop signs, is my first greatest pleasure.

24, It is easy to fall out of love with your illusion, but impossible to fall out of love with humanity.

25, Are you exhausted? Life is only just beginning..

Karalla works between the modern backdrop of New York City and the rural south of Basilicata, Italy. Her work heavily involves the participation of the local inhabitants which further demonstrates the links and differences between these two landscapes. Her work challenges both the viewer and the participants involved who are forced to question their beliefs, cultural upbringing and identity within their community.

Collections -
	Museum of Modern Art, NYC, USA
	Cooper-Hewitt Museum, NYC, USA
	Yokohama Museum, Tokyo, Japan
	New York Public Library, NYC, USA
	Daniel Katz, London, U.K.
	Koc Holding, Istanbul, Turkey
	Edward R. Downe Jr, NYC, USA

Exhibitions -
2007	The Baby Grand Piano' The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Slick, Paris, France
	The Baby Grand Piano' The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Bridge Art Fair, London 07, London, U.K.
	Untitled' (Mona Lisa) Opera Arte e Arti, Matera, Italy
2006	I Santi' Headbones Drawers Gallery, Toronto, Canada
	Portfolio' Pool Art Fair, NYC, USA
2005	Visionari Primitivi Eccentrici - 2005 - 2006 - Galleria Civica - Palazzo Loffredo, Potenza, Italy
	Rubber Souls,' Digi-Arte 2005, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
	Busted,' Superlative Exposition, Dekalb Area Women’s Center, Chicago, USA
	Baby Grand Intro & Humanity,' Young Willing & Hungry: curated by Andres Serrano at the Jen Bekman Gallery, NYC, USA
2004	Rubber Souls & I Santi,' 'Metamorphosis di una citta: architettura contemporanea a Matera, Bari, and Florence Italy / Madrid, Spain
	Humanity,' The Underground Art Fair, NYC, USA
	Eleven,' Bassel Art Fair, NYC, USA
2003	Madonna in the Chair,' from the Humanity Series, Pels-Leusden Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
	Limmagine della Donna nell,' Arte del 3° Millennio, Ex-Convento delle Suore Pie, Brindisi, Italy
2002	I Santi, a Viso Aperto,' Puglia, Italy
	Eleven,' video project. Arteria, Matera, Italy
2001	'I Santi, a Viso Aperto,' Matera. Sassi, Matera, Italy
	Busted Prints,' Because Sex Sells. Nikolia Fine Art, NYC, USA
2000	'The Praying Mass,' The Ukrainian Institute, NYC, USA
	Narcy,' (short for Narcissism), Gershwin Gallery Space, NYC, USA
1999	The Irony of Ironing,' The Ukrainian Institute, NYC, USA
	Karallas Corolla,' 1999 Auto Show at the Javitt Center, NYC, USA
	Karallas Corolla,' The Orange Art-car Show, Houston, Texas, USA
1994	Spaces Dressed in White,' The Wall at NYU, NYC, USA
	Boyfriends in Rocken Shades,' Gallery U, NYC, USA
	Virtue = Rebel,' Gubala Gallery, NYC, USA
1993	The X-Girlfriend of Marcel Proust,' at The AlleyCat Gallery, NYC, USA
	Christ,' at E.S.V. Vandam Gallery, NYC, USA
	Nervous Collector,' The AlleyCat Gallery, NYC, USA
	Comprachicoes in the Raw,' at The AlleyCat Gallery, NYC, USA
1992	Comprachicoes in the Raw,' at The Puck Building Exhibition Space, NYC, USA
1991	'Eat Cake all Natural Ingredients,' National Academy of Arts, NYC, USA
1990	'Layers of Life,' Museum of Contemporary Arts, NYC, USA
	Layers of Life,' Soho 20, NYC, USA
	Layers,' Synchronicity Space, NYC, USA
	Layers,' Under Acme Exhibition Space, NYC, USA

Writings -
Present	Dilated Pupils,' in the process
1997	The Third World'
1992	'Comprachicoes in the Raw'

Video -
2008	More French { Link }
2005	Love Me { Link }
2002	The Process { Link }
2001	'Eleven' (One minute and Eleven Seconds) { Link }
1999	Narcy' (Short for Narcissism) { Link }

Documentation -
2002 & 2003	Eleven,' with a discussion panel
2002:	Mary & Jesus,' Backstage, Documenting the last night of shooting the still.
1995	Karalla’s Rolle Back,' Rolle Back Sculpture, Filmed by Tatsushi Tahara { Link }

Publications -
2007	Pseuds Corner, Private Eye, U.K. No.1195, 12th - 25th October, The Baby Grand Piano
	Art Review October 2007
	LloydR17;s List by James Brewer R11; December 2007
	Bridge Art Fair London 07, p 30. image 'Untitled' (Mona Lisa)
	New York Cool, Interview by Anusha Alikhan "Cynthia Karalla Plays The Piano. { Link }
2005	Saatchi & Saatchi, Lovemarks German Edition, the art directors cut. Image Rubber Souls 'SunFlower.'
	Visionari Primitivi Eccentrici - 2005 - 2006 - { Link }
	Citi, Matera, Sept - Interview with Images
	The Jewish Post, New York's Best And Worst Art Shows, Volume 31, No. 5, p. 15 & 48
2004	La Gazzetta Del Mezzogiorno, National & Regional, Fotografia moderna,
	Un pianoforte fatto di sessi per rompere le barriere fra uomo e donna, Oct 12, 04 p.8 { Link }
2003	The image of the Woman in the 3^rd Millennium Art, Catalog,
	Roundtable: Art, Religion and Censorship, Conscience, vol. 24, no. 1, Spring 2003, p. 29
2002	Euorio 7, 2002
	MATERaPACIS, 2002 p. Cover, 36 & 37
	La Gazzetta Del Mezzogiorno, Sabato 16 Febbraio, E New York scopri I nostri santi { Link }
2001	Mathera Luogo non luogo- Materia –Ierofanie
1999	Ukrainian Community Press, Hohol / Gogol: From the Traditional to the Bizarre { Link }
1993	Chelsea Clinton News, New AlleyCat for Chelsea. January 28- February 3