Karen Maxted graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with distinction in 2018, specialising in painting. Since then, she has worked out of her studio in Troon and from Glasgow Print Studios.

She is a professional member of Visual Arts Scotland and the Society of Scottish Artists. She has work in the Art Collections of Edinburgh University and NHS Lothian and has won a number of awards. Her work has been shown in the annual exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy, Society of Scottish Artists and Visual Arts Scotland, as well as other group exhibitions around the UK.

‘I create surreal painted landscapes by selectively cutting objects and shapes from images of contemporary paintings produced by other artists. I collect these fragments alongside marks scavenged from the world around, such as graffiti on tabletops and paint on floors. I reconfigure them in new combinations, alongside my own marks. This results in ambiguous narratives which provoke thoughts of otherworldliness. I play with the human desire to find recognisable forms; fictitious shapes appear somehow familiar; as flora and fauna, rocks or rivers.’

Image provided by the artist.