ArtistKaren TurnerResidesUnited Kingdom
Websitekarenturnerfineart.comMediumsOil
Print Shopkarenturnerfineart.com/purchaseEmailkaren@karenturnerfineart.com
Follow the ArtistInstagramThemesWomen
Societal expectations
Fat acceptance
The concept of beauty
The female form
Discrimination and bias
Presskarenturnerfineart.com/about

About the artist

Karen Turner is an award-winning artist whose paintings are a commentary on the weight of expectations.  Born in London in 1978, Karen attended Hampstead Fine Arts College before going on to a career in the City.  Since returning to art in 2020, she has been awarded the President’s Prize by the Institute of East Anglian Artists, the Professional Artist Award by the Visual Artists Association and the Art Fluent Evolution Grant.

She was a finalist in the Theo Paphitis Art Prize, the Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize and the Women United Art Prize, as well as being shortlisted for the New Emergence Art Prize.

In 2022 Karen was invited by fashion and fine art photographers Inez and Vinoodh to join Double Dutch.  An online charity gifting platform, her work features alongside the likes of Cindy Sherman, Gary Hume, Es Devlin and Lady Gaga.

Karen’s first solo show was held in London with Red Eight Gallery in January 2024, and in October 2023 she shared a two-person exhibition with Rosie Phillips at Fairhurst Gallery in Norwich. 

Karen is currently a judge for the Visual Art Open 2024, and one of ten finalists in the Dubel Emerging Artist of the Year Prize.

Artwork Themes & Subject Matter

Focusing on the physical body and the scrutiny to which it is commonly subjected, Karen Turner’s paintings explore what society expects of a woman, the ways in which a woman’s shape is often considered to define her, and the impact that this has on her life and sense of self.

An examination of the inherent bias against, and at times discrimination of, fat bodies, her work challenges the traditionally narrow view of who can be considered beautiful, as she sensitively presents her subjects in a way that both celebrates and normalizes.

Press

Karen Turner’s works have been published notable magazine and online sources including Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Create Magazine, Art Seen, Women United Magazine, The Huts Magazine, All She Makes Magazine, Art Plugged, Arts to Hearts Magazine, Modern Renaissance Magazine, Absolutely Magazine, Places and Faces, London x London, Norfolk Magazine, Folk Features, The Ministry of Arts Podcast, Women United Art Podcast, The Artful Podcast and Portraits for NHS Heroes from Bloomsbury Publishing.

WhenExhibition Gallery
May
2023
Group exhibition: “Sanctuary”The Leper Chapel
Cambridge, UK
June
2023
Group exhibition: “The New Face of Portraiture”Cromer Artspace
Cromer, Norfolk, UK
October
2023
Duo exhibition: “Reactions: Society,
Surroundings and Self”
Fairhurst Gallery
Norwich, Norfolk, UK

CV

Education

1996 Fine Art, Hampstead Fine Arts College, London, United Kingdom

Selected Solo Exhibition

The Weight of Expectations, Women United Art Movement, Online

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023

The Other Art Fair, The Old Truman Brewery, London, United Kingdom

2022

Professional Artist Award Exhibition, VAA, Online

Art Fair East, St Andrews Hall, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom

Art on a Postcard, Koppel X, London, United Kingdom

The Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize Exhibition, Lauderdale House, London, United Kingdom

Perfect Imperfection, Women United Art Movement, Online

The Shape of Us, Masham Galllery, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

The Other Art Fair, The Old Truman Brewery, London, United Kingdom

2021

Art Fair East, St Andrews Hall, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom

Gaze, All She Makes, Online

The Marks We Make, The Curator’s Salon, Online

Open Exhibition, The Institute of East Anglian Artists, Holt, Norfolk, United Kingdom

Karen Turner - Figurative Painting - 20
Karen Turner - Figurative Painting - 25
Karen Turner - Figurative Painting - 21
Karen Turner - Figurative Painting - 30

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