Collection: Karen Gray

Karen Gray's favourite subjects tend to be animal based. The animals become the characters in her art narratives, often symbolic of the struggles and experiences encountered through life's journey.

In 1995 Karen discovered the joy of clay. It was an instant “coming home” feeling that has never left her the rigors of surface treatment and the firing of clay alighted a deep passion for ceramic work which resulted in spending 9 years as a ceramic sculptor living in the rainforests of Bellingen. Karen's ceramic work is focused on hand building story telling. After painting scenes on vessels, she ventured into acrylic painting which complemented her body of work offering the same sentiments but using a different methodology.

Both whimsical and humorous, Karen strive sto capture an authentic voice in her sculptures and paintings. Whether hand building or painting she works with speed, allowing the natural, primal and instinctive surge of energy to infuse with her art. The movement created with Karen's bold brush strokes and strong clay making practice enhances the characters which come alive in the work, offering a combined vision that strength and fragility play equal parts in life.

Karen spent 6 years in the army as an Illustrator Reprographic before working as a jewellery designer. She also has a varied art background including an honours in Anthropology which, to her, primarily feeds an insatiable inquisitiveness into the human condition and storytelling. Karen lives in a small creative town called Yackandandah.