Karen Le Roy Harris - Fine Artist
www.karenleroyharris.com/karen@karenleroyharris.comAbout
ARTIST STATEMENT
Through installation work, I create sculpted textile forms to investigate the narrative of the human body and the spaces they occupy. Themes of power, status, gender and identity run throughout my work, in particular looking at female identity. My work most often is site specific responding to a space as well as researching its history and narrative. The fabrics and medium I use are usually symbolic of the identity of a space, character or concept. I am interested in creating subversive imagery that plays on concepts of beauty and abjection. I also explore time, presence and life’s transient and fluid nature.
I have worked on large scale site-specific commissions for Jersey Heritage and enjoy bringing contemporary art into a historical context and bringing art to new audiences.
My current practice is engaged with collaborative practices, working with other artists to form new work – in particular working with dancers and performers.
BIOGRAPHY
Artist Karen Le Roy Harris was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, 1983. She studied at the University of the West of England, Bristol where she gained a First Class honours in Drawing and Applied Arts in 2005 and a Masters in Fine Art in 2007.
She is both an art practitioner as well as an arts coordinator and facilitator. Karen has set up and run many art community programmes such as online resources and artist groups as well as exhibitions and workshops throughout her career.
In 2009 she started Red Dot artist group in Jersey, organising exhibitions in alternative spaces such as Heritage sites and empty retail units, pairing up established local artists with up-and-coming artists. Karen has also managed events like Open Studios 2011 for art organisations such as the Jersey Arts Trust. She has also been an art teacher running independent workshops and in 2011-2012 teaching A-level Art for a contemporary Art department.
Within her own practice Karen works on site-specific installations responding to narratives and the history of spaces, using textiles as her main medium to communicate her concepts. Her responses often draw on ideas surrounding female identity.
In 2011-2012 Karen was commissioned by Jersey Heritage to create a large scale site- specific exhibition The Past Unravels through a series of installations responding to one of their sites. Karen ran free workshops, talks and events to involve and communicate with different audiences.
Karen works in London & Jersey. She is active within Stour Space – a community driven space and is looking to form more links and collaborative projects between Jersey and Stour Space, London.Categories: Artist, Fabrics & Textiles, Sculptor.
