Karen Turner

Karen Turner is a multi-award-winning figurative artist whose oil paintings challenge societal bias against larger bodies, exploring how cultural expectations limit identity and ambition.

She makes a powerful statement about how society attempts to contain and diminish women's presence, while simultaneously creating paintings of striking beauty and emotional impact.

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.

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.

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.

In 2024, Karen was a judge for the Visual Art Open, and one of ten finalists in the Dubel Emerging Artist of the Year Prize. That same year, she was invited to feature in the fourth series of BBC One's Extraordinary Portraits, with her episode airing on Friday 14th March 2025.