Why Carl’s a Hawk to Watch:

Wisdom and The Wizard of Oz, LGBTQ+ rights and the legacy of Stonewall, family and the uneasy tension between memory and reality, time and the construction of personal identity. KU alum Carl Grauer is using his background in biology to explore human nature, but not in the ways that you might expect.

Through his work as a contemporary portrait and figurative artist, Carl is exploring the human elements at work in moments both mundane and magnificent, ranging from personal recollections to pop culture icons. With a mix of scientific precision and humanist curiosity, he examines the depths of everyday experience and the meaning we assign to the past, using brushstrokes and fine pigments to tell stories of humanity and document the rich, vivid, complex, entirely ordinary beauty of his subjects in 2-D form.

Meet Carl, our May Hawk to Watch, and learn how a B.A. in biology led him from a pre-med track to graduate work in medical illustration, and later, art shows across L.A., New York, and London. Get his advice for others wanting to pursue a career doing what they love, and discover how he carved out a path that was unexpected, yes, but completely of his own creation, with honesty, kindness and persistence.

Click here to continue reading this feature, which includes an interview with the artist.