Karen Turner is an award-winning figurative artist whose oil paintings are a celebration of the female form, and a commentary on its right to take up space in a world that tries to constrain it.

Her realistic depictions of women are produced on smaller canvases, to symbolise how society often boxes them in. The work seeks to celebrate and uplift, and to provoke introspection, encouraging the viewer to consider themselves and others without judgement.

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Born in London in 1978, Karen attended Hampstead Fine Arts College before going on to a career in the City.  Since returning to her practice 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.

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She has been a finalist in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, the Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize, the Theo Paphitis Art Prize and the Women United Art Prize.

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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.  She exhibits across the UK, including with The Other Art Fair and Art Fair East, and her work features on Inez and Vinoodh's platform 'Double Dutch' alongside the likes of Cindy Sherman and Lady Gaga.

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.