In tandem with her KABUKI series she is known for her large cutout installations of avante guarde designers haute couture runway wear on models walking their favorite pets. The choice of black clothing often evokes the costumes in Rembrandts Night Watch. The pets are often eight foot Dalmatians – sets of which were recently installed in the entrance of the gallery of Westbeth Artists Housing. One of Karen Santrys smaller fine art cutout paintings was chosen for Martin Dawbers cover art of The Big Book of Fashion Illustration currently in Barnes and Noble she also wrote the preface. She uses her fashion Illustration accounts which most recently have been for Yamamoto, Rea Kabuki: Comme de Garcons, Valentino, Patricia Fields and Andre Van Pier to meet the designers and work directly with the models and clothing.
This Westbeth project is inspired by ISA HD and Mortiz Partenheimer experiences of the international studio & Cultural Program ( ISCP ) and Westbeth Artist Housing.
