Alexis Karl

BIO 2026

Karl is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, perfumer and professor whose films integrate into her large scale, aromatically-driven sculptural installations and aromatic, musical live performances. Karl has premiered her feature Brooklyn Folk Horror film, ANTON, at The Big Apple Film Festival, has another feature film in post production, and is in post production on the previous administration’s State Department and Thai embassy affiliated documentary, as well as various experimental horror dance films. Karl’s cinematic works have received over thirty film and screenwriting awards at festivals, such as The North Film Festival, Katra Film Festival, Revolution Me Film Festival, Los Angeles Fashion Festival, Bowery Film Festival, Cult Film fest UK, International Screenwriting Award Competition, Tokyo Shorts, Around Films Berlin.

Karl is a professor at Pratt Institute of her self created course: The Art of Scent- a multidisciplinary class using fragrance as an artistic medium- and exploring aromatics as seen through the lens of history and anthropology throughout various cultures and eras -with a specialty in folkloric magic and ritualistic history of aromatics.  She is a regular guest lecturer on aromatic history at The Harvard Museum, and most recently Harvard’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies.  Karl has taught film directing, cinematography and screenwriting through various embassies with the previous administration, including teaching film to students in war-torn countries, countries with repression of freedom of speech, and in marginalized communities such as Gaza, Pakistan, and the Hill Tribes of Thailand. 

Karl’s films, large-scale fully immersive, multisensory -aromatic sculptural installations and live performances with her gothic music troupe, Lex and The Cult of Spirits- a group of musicians, dancers , aerialists, fire dancers, orators and actors, have been featured in festivals and exhibitions around the world, most notably: Manhattan Bridge/ Athens and Berlin Building Projections with Leo Kuelbs Collection & Scope Berlin, Scope Athens, Olfactory Art Keller Gallery, The Whitney Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Stephen Romano Gallery, The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick and The Museum of Moving Image with Kaufman Center.

Karls films, music, multidisciplinary installations and lectures on fragrance, ritual, fashion film and art have been featured in The New York Times: Women in The World, NY Post, Elysian Magazine, White Hot Magazine ,Gothic Beauty Magazine, Heathen Harvest, Honeysuckle Magazine, London Financial Times, Art News, Atlas Obscura, Bustle Magazine; with TV and Radio spots on Salford City Radio UK, WMBR Bat’s In The Belfry Radio Boston, CNN and The View.

Karl’s articles on the relevance of aromatics within art history and cultural anthropology have been published in Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, Basenotes Magazine, Venefica Magazine and Art511 Magazine.

Karl is the recipient of a JoanMitchell Grant,  New York Council of the Arts Grant and was finalist in the Art and Olfaction Awards.

BFA Cornell University
MFA New York Academy of Art, Graduate School of Figurative Art

“Grimoires and the Magic of Scent”, Karl, A. ( 2019) Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, https://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/trends/article/21856778/grimoires-and-the-magic-of-scent

“Frankincense: Scent of the Spirit Realm”, Karl, A. ( 2019) Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, https://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/ingredients/article/21857106/frankincense-scent-of-the-spirit-realm

“Scent & Spirit: A Taste of Mexican Gourmand”, Karl, A. ( 2019) Perfumer& Flavorist Magazine, https://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/regulatory-research/article/21856951/scent-spirit-a-taste-of-mexican-gourmand

“Scent & Spirit: This is Chocolate” Karl, A. ( 2019) Perfumer& Flavorist Magazine , https://www.perfumerflavorist.com/flavor/sweet-applications/article/21856768/this-is-chocolate

“The Seduction of Poisonous Plants” Karl, A., 2019) Venefica Magazine

“Magic and Muses: The Immortal Echo” Karl, A. (2018), Venefica Magazine

“Royalty and Fragrance, A Tale of Two Palaces Part 1” Karl, A. (2018) Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/research/Royalty-And-Fragrance-A-Tale-Of-Two-Palaces-Part-1-474217773.html

“Royalty and Fragrance, A Tale of Two Palaces Part 2: The Scent of Versailles” Karl, A. (2018) Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/application/finefrag/Royalty-and-Fragrances-Part-2-The-Scent-of-Versailles-477503683.html

“Poisons, Potions and Perfumes” Karl, A. (2018) Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine https://www.perfumerflavorist.com/fragrance/application/finefrag/Poisons-Potions-and-Perfumes-481402481.html

“Glorified Deformity: Rei Kawakubo’s Art of The In between, Karl, A. (2018) Art 511 Magazine, http://art511mag.com/2017/08/13/glorified-deformity-rei-kawakubos-art-of-the-in-between/

“Living with Art”, Karl, A. (2018) Art 511 Magazine