Karen Turner is a member of the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory
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.
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.
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.
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