About
Karen Kirkwood’s work is inspired by the natural world and the elemental powers of nature. These often manifest in an abstract form with heavily textured and layered surfaces giving the works their own physicality. These layers are then contained and overlain by schematic linear elements to control the surface below.
Earlier works were drawn from an interest in cosmology and the relationship between micro particles and the vast energies found in space. Thinking about the physical forces at work in the cosmos and their effect on the matter there.
Education
BA Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art – 1992
Master of Fine Art, Edinburgh College of Art – 1994
PGCE Community Education, Strathclyde University – 2005
BA Visual Communication and Digital Publishing (Merit), Abertay University, 2019
Scholarships/awards/residencies
Scalloway Booth Residency, Shetland, April – 2010
Hope Scott Trust, Award to publish catalogue – 2003
Artist in Residence, Kunstcentrum, Leiden, Netherlands – 2002
Edinburgh City Council funding towards exhibition costs – 1995
Artist in Residence Repton School, Repton, Derbyshire – 1994 -1996
Andrew Grant Bequest for post-graduate study – 1993
John Floret Stone Bequest for post-graduate study – 1992
Short listed for Miller Homes Award – 1992
Exchange to Ecole des Beaux Arts, Quimper, France – 1991
Collections
Mastercard, European Head Offices, Brussels – 2008
Mastercard Offices, London – 2007
Geotecnics, Livingston – 2007
Repton School, Repton, Derbyshire – 1996
Art in Hospitals, Edinburgh NHS Trust – 1993
Edinburgh College of Art – 1992