Karen Topp

I am a French-born artist who has made London home for over twenty-five years.

My work revolves around the experience of places I have seen—urban dwellings, forests, and coastal vistas often return as recurring motifs, explored again and again through different materials and interpretations.

Through this process, I examine the relationship between making and material, focusing on repetition, rhythm, and the tactile qualities that emerge from working with varied surfaces. I am interested in how both my body and the materials respond to one another—revealing tension, release, and unexpected visual outcomes.

Over time, my practice has expanded from painting into mixed media, textiles, animation, and found materials. I often begin with a small detail or texture, building new works around these fragments.

My upcoming collection, Receding Tide, will debut at The Other Art Fair in London (5–8 March 2026). It explores flow, transparency, and what is revealed or left behind by ebbing waters. The works offer a sense of calm, inviting viewers to pause, observe from afar, and move closer to discover the subtle marks and shifting surfaces up close.

Karen is a self-taught artist who has refined her skills through various courses in institutions such as Central St Martins and the City Lit, London, UK, completing the Advanced Year of the Figure and Portrait (2021-22), Extended Drawing for Artists and Makers (2024-25), and Advanced Printmaking: Practice and Discourse (2025-26).

The Colour of Shadow, Original Gallery, London 2025
At The Door, Safehouse, London 2025
Surface, City Lit, London 2025
State of Flux, The Brick Lane Gallery, London 2025
Artsdepot Winter showcase, London, 2023-24
FLUID, Espacio Gallery, London, 2023
Gaia, Camden Image Gallery, London, 2023
What is Art, Boomer Gallery, London, 2023
Winter Exhibition, The Wood Norton, Cotswolds, UK, 2022-23
The Figure Reframed, City Lit, London, 2022
Finding the Light, Camden Image Gallery, London, 2021