Karen McLaughlin

Karen McLaughlin is an abstract painter whose work captures the essence of Ireland’s landscapes, inspired by the rugged coastlines and shifting skies of her native Donegal.
Having studied Fine Art at Dublin’s National College of Art and Design in the 1990s, Karen has developed a unique style that blends texture and vibrant color to evoke the beauty of Ireland’s natural world.
 
In 2024, she showcased her work in a solo exhibition at Wallace Asti in Dublin and participated in group exhibitions across Ireland and the UK, including Technicolour Dreams at Espacio Gallery in London, An Chead Tine in Kilkenny, and Olympians at Citadel Fine Art Gallery in Dover. Working between her studios in Dublin and Inishowen, Karen’s art continues to reflect a profound connection to Irish heritage and landscape.

Exhibitions

2018 Vox Materia  The Source Arts Centre, Thurles Zephyr; works on paper 2017 Claremorris, Claremorris Gallery, Ireland The Glorious Maid of the Charnel House 2016 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London The Glorious Maids of the Charnel House 2016 Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin Reservoir 2015 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, England Becoming 2012 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Godchildren of Enantios 2011 David Nolan Gallery, New York, USA Godchildren of Enantios 2010 Galway Arts Centre, Galway, Ireland The Music of Things 2009 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Hypnerotomachia 2008 David Nolan Gallery, New York, USA Alice Maher: Natural Artifice 2007 Brighton and Hove Museum Djanogly Art Centre, Nottingham, UK Drawings and an Object Alice Maher and Recent Drawings Joyce Pensato 2007 Schmidt, St. Louis, USA The Night Garden 2007 Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland Orsola 2006 Oratorio di San Ludovico; Galleria di Nuova Icona, Venice, Italy Garden 2006 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK Rood 2005 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Portraits 2004 Mestni Muzej, Ljubljana, Slovenia The Axe (and the waving girl) 2003 New Art Centre Sculpture Park, Roche Court, Salisbury, UK Portraits 2003 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK Portraits 2003 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Mnemosyne 2003 Green On Red Gallery Father Mathew Hall, Dublin, Ireland Portraits 2003 Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown, Northern Ireland The History of Tears 2001 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK The History of Tears 2001 Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland The History of Tears 2001 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Alice Maher: Gorget and Other Works 2000 NolanEckman Gallery, New York, USA Coma Berenices 1999 Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland New Work 1998 South Tipperary Art Centre, Tipperary, Ireland L’Arpent (The Long Acre) 1997 River Clain, Poitiers, France Femme-Fontaines 1997 Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France Acre 1997 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Growths 1996 Todd Gallery, London, UK Swimmers 1996 Le Credac Centre d’Art, Ivry sur Seine, France Alice Maher 1996 Todd Gallery, London, UK Works On Paper 1995 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Familiar 1995 Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, UK Familiar 1995 Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork, Ireland Familiar 1995 Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland Familiar 1995 Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Keep 1992 Old Museum Arts Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland Recent Work 1991 Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland Recent Work 1991 Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland Recent Work 1991 Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland Tryst 1989 Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland Transfiguration 1987 On the Wall Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland

fair is foul & foul is fair 2019 Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC Elliptical Affinities 2019 Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda Encountering the Land 2018 Visual Carlow, Carlow Naked Truth 2018 Crawford Art Gallery, Cork BUT STILL, LIKE DUST, I’LL RISE 2018 Galway Arts Centre, Galway 38th Eva International: Ireland’s Biennial 2018 Cleeves Factory, Limerick Double Take: Collections and Context 2018 The Glucksman. University College Cork, Hybrid 2017 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London Eva International 2016 Limerick Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter 2016 RWA, Bristol RHA Annual 2015 Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland The Desire for Freedom 2014 Muzeum Sztuki Wspolczesnej MOCAK, Cracow, Poland The Desire for Freedom 2013 Eesti Kunstimuuseum, Tallinn, Estonia The Desire for Freedom 2013 Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy Changing States: Contemporary Irish Art and the Francis Bacon Studio 2013 BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium The Desire for Freedom 2012 Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, Germany Motion Capture 2012 Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland Poetry Beyond Text 2011 Visual Research Centre Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, UK The Surreal in Irish Art 2011 F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio, Banbridge, Co.Down The Family in British Art 2011 Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Norwich, UK Line Exploring Space 2010 The Source Arts Centre, Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland Kinsale Arts Week 2010 Cork, Ireland Eigse 2010 Carlow, Ireland Annual Exhibition 2010 Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland Inner Lives 2010 Town Hall Gallery, Macroom, Ireland Dust in the air suspended 2010 South Tipperary County Museum, Tipperary, Ireland The Woods 2010 LCAG Off-site, Istabraq Hall, Limerick, Ireland Flower Power curated by Andrea Busto 2009 Craa Centre de Ricerca Arte Actuale, Italy Altered States 2009 Ballina Arts Centre, Mayo, Ireland Altered States 2009 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Into Irish Drawing 2009 Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown, Northern Ireland Into Irish Drawing 2009 Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France Into Irish Drawing 2009 AkkuH, The Netherlands Into Irish Drawing 2009 Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland To Have and Have Not 2009 KAW Gallery, Kinsale Paper Work 2009 Pallas Contemporary Projects, Dublin, Ireland Drawing Itself – A Survey of Contemporary Practice 2009 Brattleboro Museum, Vermont, USA Alternative Nature 2008 Cavan County Museum, Cavan, Ireland Chronoscope 2008 Sixth World Archaeological Congress Newman House, Dublin, Ireland Darkness Visible 2008 Galway Arts Centre, Galway, Ireland My Space and I 2008 West Cork Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland 7 Leagues More 2008 Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford, Ireland In Drawing 2008 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK Animal Rites 2007 David Cunningham Projects, San Francisco, United States inter-changes 2007 Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin, Ireland The Art of Looking 2006 Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland Passing Through 2006 Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland Masters; 25 Years On 2006 Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland Cross Section; Seventeen Artists from the Arts Council Collection 2006 Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland You’ll Never Know: Drawing and Random Interference 2006 Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, UK You’ll Never Know: Drawing and Random Interference 2006 Hayward Gallery, London, UK Group Show 2006 Nolan Eckman Gallery, New York, USA FRESH Re-imagining the Collection 2006 Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland Art in State Buildings 1995 – 2005 2006 Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin, Ireland A Summer Show Part I 2006 Green On Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Drawing Inspiration 2006 Gorge(l) Koninklijk Museum voor Shone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium Drawing Inspiration 2006 Abbott Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, UK Forest Dreaming 2006 Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World, Exeter, UK Siar 50; Fifty years of contemporary Art 2005 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland New Sculpture from Ireland 2005 New Art Centre, Roche Court, UK Bread Matters III 2005 West Cork Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland Cherrypicking 2005 Wicklow County Council, Wicklow, Ireland Views from an Island 2004 Millenium Art Museum, Beijing, China Impressions 2004 Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaois, Ireland Corpus 2004 Limerick City Art Gallery, Limerick, Ireland In the Time of Shaking: Irish Artists for Amnesty International 2004 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Tír na N-Óg 2004 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Country 2004 Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenia Locale 2004 Lough Derg, Tipperary, Ireland Re-Imagining Ireland 2003 University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, United States Annual Exhibition 2003 Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland L’art d’etre au monde 2003 International Festival of Contemporary Art, Melle, France Drawn from a Family 2002 Colby College Museum of Art, Maine, United States The Holy Show 2002 Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland Tipperary vs Kilkenny 2002 Fenton Gallery, Cork, Ireland Ierse Kunst 2002 Stedelijk Museum, Brussels, Belgium Mask and Metamorphosis: Aspects of Surrealism in Contemporary Art 2002 Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Print Fair 2002 Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK Something Else: Irish Contemporary Art 2002 Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland Something Else: Irish Contemporary Art 2002 Oulu City Art Museum, Oulu, Finland Something Else: Irish Contemporary Art 2002 Joensuu Art Museum., Joensuu, Finland Something Else: Irish Contemporary Art 2002 Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland Locws International, site specific work 2002 Swansea, Wales Metamorphing (Marina Warner and Sarah Bakewell) 2002 Science Museum, London, UK Object 2001 Letterkenny Arts Centre, Donegal, Ireland Shifting Ground: Selected Works of Irish Art 1950-2000 2001 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland An Artists Century 2000 RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Art on Paper 2000 Royal College of Art, London, UK The Double with James Reilly Thomas Ruff and Lindsay Seers 2000 The Lowry Centre, Salford Quays, UK Art 2000 2000 Green on Red Gallery / London Contemporary Art Fair, London, UK Art 2000 2000 Green on Red Gallery / Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, USA End Papers 2000 Neuberger Museum, Purchase, New York, USA Secret Garden 2000 Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham, UK Contemporary 2000 2000 Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Irish Art Now: from the Poetic to Political 1999 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Irish Art Now: from the Poetic to Political 1999 Chicago Cultural Centre, Chicago, USA Irish Art Now: from the Poetic to Political 1999 Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. Johns, Newfoundland Irish Art Now: from the Poetic to Political 1999 McMullen Museum, Boston, USA The Challenge of Power 1999 Limerick City Gallery, Limerick, Ireland Artifacts 1999 West Cork Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland Fauna 1999 Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland Art 1999 1999 Green on Red Gallery / London Contemporary Art Fair, London, UK Art 1999 1999 Green on Red Gallery / Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, USA Drawings 1999 NolanEckman Gallery, New York, USA Monumental Drawings 1999 Exit Art, New York, USA Drawing Thinking 1999 RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Spirit of the Times 1999 The Bowes Museum, Durham, Ireland Return to Sender 1999 Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia Return to Sender 1999 Darwin Festival, Sydney, Australia Return to Sender 1999 Next Wave Festival, Melbourne, Australia Return to Sender 1999 Tlestra Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, Australia Return to Sender 1999 Hugh Lane Municipal Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Multiples x 1 1999 Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Reverend Todd’s Full House 1999 College Green, Belfast, Northern Ireland Nettle Coat 1999 The Square, Tallaght, Ireland Objects in Time 1999 West Cork Arts Centre, Skibereen, Ireland The Grotesqueness of Desire 1999 Inside Art Gallery, Chicago, USA Temple Bar International Print Show 1999 Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland Terrains Vagues – Between the Local and the Global 1999 Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury, UK Terrains Vagues – Between the Local and the Global 1999 Ecole des Beaux Arts, Rouen, France The Sky Chair – A Performance with Composer Trevor Knight 1999 Project @ The Mint, Dublin, Ireland Art into Art: A Living Response to Past Masters 1998 The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland When Time Began to Rant and Rage 1998 Gray Gallery New York University, New York, USA When Time Began to Rant and Rage 1998 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK When Time Began to Rant and Rage 1998 Berkeley Art Museum, California, USA Lines of Desire – Drawing 1998 Wrexham Arts Centre, Wrexham, Wales Lines of Desire – Drawing 1998 Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, UK Lines of Desire – Drawing 1998 Oldham Art Gallery, Oldham, UK Alice Maher and Tim Davies 1998 Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland Alice Maher and Tim Davies 1998 Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland Alice Maher and Tim Davies 1998 Edinburgh Art Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland Alice Maher and Tim Davies 1998 Oriel Mostyn Art Gallery, Llandudno, Wales Cruelty 1997 Fenderesky Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland Re-Dressing Cathleen 1997 McMullen Museum, Boston, USA A Century of Irish Painting 1997 Yamnshi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan A Century of Irish Painting 1997 Mitaka City Gallery of Art, Japan A Century of Irish Painting 1997 Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan A Century of Irish Painting 1997 Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Digital Dimensions 1997 Arthouse, Dublin, Ireland Art 1997 1997 Green on Red Gallery, Basel, Switzerland Tir: Alice Maher and Alanna O’Kelly 1996 Gavle Centre for the Arts, Sweden Art Grandeur Nature 1996 Seine Saint-Denis, Paris, France Irish Group Show (to coincide with Ireland’s EU Presidency) 1996 EU Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium Irish Arts Festival of Arhus 1996 Arhus Kunstbygning, Denmark IMMA / Glen Dimplex Awards 1996 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland L ‘Imaginaire Irlandais 1996 Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France Eigse 1995 Carlow, Ireland Visiting Artists 1985–1995 1995 L’Imaginaire Irlandais, Paris, France Visiting Artists 1985–1995 1995 Armagh County Museum, Armagh City, Ireland Visiting Artist 1985–1995 1995 Butler Gallery Kilkenny, Kilkenny, Ireland Visiting Artists 1985–1995 1995 Graphic Studio, Dublin, Ireland Keep 1995 Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin, Ireland The Conversation 1995 Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland On Paper 1995 Todd Gallery, London, UK Art as the Object of Desire 1995 Fenderesky Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland Compulsive Objects 1995 Rubicon Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Irish Group Show 1995 EU Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium A-Dress 1995 Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada Twelve Young Artists from Northern Ireland 1995 Itami Museum, Kyoto, Japan EV+A 1995 Limerick City Gallery, Limerick, Ireland Distant Relations 1995 Museo Arte Contemporaneo de Carillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico Distant Relations 1995 Santa Monica Museum of Art, California, USA Distant Relations 1995 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Distant Relations 1995 Camden Arts Centre, London, UK Distant Relations 1995 Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 Le Musee d’Art Moderne, Toulouse, France Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 La Rectoria, Barcelona, Spain Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 L’Escola de Belles Artes, Lleida, Spain Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, Northern Ireland Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Un Pelerinage Kaleidoscopique 1994 Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland Irish Days II 1994 Baltic Art Gallery, Ustka, Poland Small World-Small Works 1994 Galerie + Edition CAOC, Berlin, Germany From Beyond the Pale 1994 Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland 22nd Sao Paolo Bienal (representing Ireland with Ciaran Lennon and Philip Napier) 1994 Brazil Gateway 1993 Terminal 1, Dublin Airport, Ireland Euro-Threshold 1993 Contemporary Irish Art Exhibition, Millstreet, Cork, Ireland Relocating History 1993 Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland Relocating History 1993 Fenderesky Gallery at Queens, Belfast, Northern Ireland EV+A 1993 Limerick City Gallery, Limerick Artists for Somalia 1992 Irish Life Centre, Dublin, Ireland Strongholds: New Art from Ireland 1991 Tate Gallery, Liverpool, UK In a State 1991 Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland Alice Maher and Louise Walsh 1990 Arts Council Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland Irish Art of the Eighties 1990 Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland G.P.A. Emerging Artists Exhibition 1990 RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Celebration Robes with Joyce Wieland 1989 City Gallery, Limerick, Ireland Art Beyond Barriers 1989 Frauenmuseum, Bonn, Germany Issues: Four Artists 1989 Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland Basquiat Clemente Coombes Maher Wilson 1988 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Cotter Maher Walsh 1988 Showntell Gallery, San Francisco, USA Fort Mason Firehouse 1988 San Francisco, USA San Francisco University Club 1988 San Francisco, USA G.P.A. Awards Show 1988 Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Irish Women Artists 1987 Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland EV+A 1987 Municipal Gallery, Limerick, Ireland The Popening 1987 The Lab Gallery, San Francisco, USA Alice Maher & Raine Bedsole 1987 Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, USA Five Belfast Artists Draw the Line 1987 Grafton Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Six Artists ‘On the Go…’ 1987 Cork, Ireland Six Artists ‘On the Go…’ 1987 Dublin, Ireland Six Artists ‘On the Go…’ 1987 Derry, Northern Ireland Graduate Print Exchange 1986 University of Peking, Peking, China Eight Artists from Ireland 1986 Oxford, England Visiting Artist 1985–1995 Model Arts Centre, Sligo, Ireland In Colour

Kestrel

2,500.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
92cm x 122cm (105cm x 132cm with frame)

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White Strand

690.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
40cm x 50cm (50cm x 60cm with frame)

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Expansion

850.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
51cm x 51cm (68cm x 68cm with frame)

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First Sign

850.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
51cm x 51cm (68cm x 68cm with frame)

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Tullagh

275.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
20cm x 25cm (22cm x 27cm with frame)

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Mamore

275.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
20cm x 30cm (22cm x 32cm with frame)

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Leenan

275.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
20cm x 25cm (22cm x 27cm with frame)

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Dawn Whisper

275.00

Artist: Karen McLaughlin
acrylic on canvas
20cm x 25cm (22cm x 27cm with frame)

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