About

Karl Orion is a multidisciplinary artist based in Denver, known for oil paintings that unfold within a unified fictional world. Formally trained at Denver School of the Arts and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Orion has been building this imagined realm since his early teens—a space that mirrors his evolving identity and helps process real-world complexity. Since graduating in 2011, he has worked as both an artist and educator, teaching independently and through the Art Students League of Denver, while exhibiting across Colorado.

Though Orion is currently developing music videos to expand this universe, painting remains central to his practice. At the heart of his narrative is a character named Fog, a man who blushes iridescent rainbow hues that shift with his emotions. Cast out for his uniqueness, Fog explores a sinking industrial island, exploring abandoned buildings encircling a sleek metropolis. Eventually, he risks everything to cross a vast sea in search of sanctuary on a lush, hidden island. Through this allegory, Orion explores transformation, displacement, and personal myth-making, inviting viewers into a world shaped by memory, metaphor, and emotional truth.