Karen Wirth

Karen Wirth is an adjunct professor, after having been the Vice President of Academic Affairs at MCAD and the interim President of the college. Her artwork explores the relationships between words, objects, and space through artist’s books, sculpture, public art, and critical writing. She is a recipient of a 2024 McKnight Book Arts Fellowship. She co-designed the sculptural staircase at Open Book in Minneapolis and four of the Minneapolis Blue Line light rail stations. Her books and installations have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and are in many collections, including the Museum of Modern Art Library, Walker Art Center, the Getty Center, and Yale University. Wirth has received artist fellowships from the Bush, McKnight and Jerome Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, NY State Council for the Arts, and Minnesota State Arts Board. Wirth holds an MFA in sculpture from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and a BFA in art education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.