About me

Karen Kuchel is an Australian artist and lighting designer living in New York City with her husband and young son.

She studied architecture and architectural lighting design at Parsons The New School for Design. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) and Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the University of Melbourne, and a Diploma for Graduates (Economics) from the London School of Economics.

Before coming to the United States, Karen worked as a management consultant at Accenture and business analyst.

Karen has won an IES Illumination Award of Merit for her work on the Hyatt Hotel Herald Square with PHT Lighting. She was one of 20 artists invited to create a gobo light projection for the Melbourne Festival of Light in 2013, and in that same year collaborated with CDR Studio Architects on an installation using deconstructed waste plastic bottles. In 2014, she won a competition to have several beach towel designs manufactured and sold by One Kings Lane.

Karen was the lighting designer for the 9/11 memorial in Hoboken and her insights were featured on NBC News New York.

She has a keen interest in using sustainable and recycled materials, as well as using materials that are good for our wellbeing. She is currently working on an artwork using recycled spectacles.

Karen is available for interior and exterior lighting design projects and for custom fixtures, light art and installations.

Skills

3D Design, 3D Modeling, Analytics, Architectural Lighting Design, CAD, Digital Art, Fine Arts, Lighting, Lighting Design, Presentation, surface pattern

Sector Experience

Architecture, Hotels & Resorts, residential, Restaurant / Café

Awards

IES Illumination Award of Merit