Karen Mead is an artist and printmaker who is fascinated by the changing role of women as they age; how they define themselves and how they are perceived.

 ‘We are newly encouraged to champion the menopausal and post-menopausal state but do we cling to old tropes or fail to experience the empowerment we are promised?’

Karen’s work reflects, often humorously, on the difficulties of the transition from mother to grandmother and from nurturing others to nurturing our mature selves, with all the questioning of values and identity that such a shift entails. Recognising that narratives are an important part of her practise Karen has recently begun exploring zines and writing on these themes - a selection of this work can be seen on the Blog.

Karen’s work is regularly exhibited in the UK, mostly recently; Quay Arts (Isle of Wight), St Barbe Museum and Gallery (Lymington), The House of Smalls Gallery (Edinburgh), Ironbridge Fine Arts (Shropshire) and the Mall Gallery (London).

She was the winner of Best Print Award 2025 at the St Barbe Gallery and Museum.

She has an MA in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking UWE, Bristol and a BA(Hons) Fine Art and works with lino print, monoprint and etching. Drawing is a foundational part of her practise.

Currently based on the Isle of Wight, Karen was born in Hong Kong where she lived on and off for more than 40 years.

For enquiries about her work please use the Contact Page or message directly through Instagram.