Working in paint and mixed media, Karen Reitzel explores human negotiation of nature and the places where natural and urban environments intermingle.  She is interested in human emotional responses when encountering the unfamiliar as well as observation of nuance and common details.  Her goal is to enrich an audience's sense of self and place and to inspire contemplation of nearby human-made elements, native plants and animals, or even the nature of the air and light at any particular moment.   By playfully engaging viewers with the dynamism of art that shifts with point of view as in her "pleated" or kinetic work, she strives to make art that is accessible to a wide array of people on a multiplicity of levels.  Reitzel has most recently shown in non profit spaces associated with NewTown Pasadena, Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, Armory Center for the Arts as well as Pharmaka LA and the Turtle Bay Museum in Redding, CA.

Reitzel was Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Art Resources and has curated several art exhibitions including co-operating Lemoyne Kennels Gallery and the While U Wait series at the Hollywood DMV.  As in her own work, she interested in expanding the art and audience relationship into unexpected public spaces.