lives and works in Brussels
Karen was trained as a painter but uses walls, windows and paper rather than canvas as the support of her work, and turns to tape almost as frequently as to paint in her practice. Tape enables her to create depth, to portray the tectonic structure and underlying layers of the mountains that she often chooses as her topics. However, her choice of colours and composition provides her work with a "painterly" impression. Furthermore, her approach can be seen as a try to overcome the usual borders of the canvas.
She mostly takes her inspiration from natural sights and tries to capture their beauty and mystery but also their physical structure and substance, the history and processes that shaped them. She conducts thorough geological research in order to understand how her subjects function and incorporates these insights into her artistic practice. As most of her work is in situ she never chooses a landscape at random. Her preparatory work on paper is autonomous and stands by itself.
Born in 1982 in the Ghent
Researcher and teacher, Hogeschool voor Wetenschap & Kunst, Sint Lucas, Antwerp, Belgium (since 2009) | Master in visual research, Karel de Grote-Hogeschool, Sint Lucas, Antwerp, Belgium (2007) | Guest student in fine arts, Kunsthøgskolen, Bergen, Norway (2005)
Numerous exhibitions – latest ones: represented Ponyhof Gallery at POPPOSITIONS off fair (Brussels) April 2012 ; solo Isola Comacina, Galerie Zwart Huis, Knokke (BE) 2012 | Stone Mountain, ZSenne Artlab, Brussels (BE) 2011 | Mingo Falls, the Power for Happiness, Kunst in Huis, Leuven (BE) 2011-2012 | Foissac, M'atuvu, Brussels (BE) 2010 ; group The Wall / Tybee, Het Entrepot, Brugge (BE) 2011 | De canvascollectie / La collection rtbf, Bozar, Brussels (BE) 2010 | Nieuwelingen, Kunst in Huis, CC Westrand, Dilbeek (BE) 2010 | Delft op zicht, Kadmium, Delft (NL) 2010
Awards: BNP Paribas Fortis Young Artistic Talent Award (BE) 2010 | Art'Contest 09, Brussels (BE) 2009 | Young Artists (selected by Dirk Pauwels), Palmarium, Gent (BE) 2007
