Karen Akester is an artist based in Edinburgh. She began her early career in design and illustration before discovering the world of glass making.. transfixed, this led to a change in vocation and she completed her Masters Degree in Glass in 2002 at Edinburgh University-College of Art.
Exhibiting locally and internationally her work is held in many private and public collections including The National Museum and National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh (UK), North Lands Creative, Lybster Caithness (UK); Wheaton Arts, Millville New Jersey (USA).
Karen was one of twentyone artists invited by the late Dan Klein to create new work for Auction in the first 'Modern & Contemporary Glass Auction' at Bonhams New Bond Street, London.
The subsequent pieces bought by Dan Klein and Alan Poole are now part of the incredible glass collection which was bequeathed to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Selected exhibition highlights include shortlisted for the Coburger Glasspreis (2014) - European Museum of Modern Glass, Germany: Selected by Craft Scotland (2011) to represent Scottish Glass at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (USA); COLLECT (2010) Saatchi Gallery, London - represented by the Bullseye Gallery (USA) and SOFA Chicago, USA; The Affordable Art Fair, Melbourne Australia - represented by Coates & Scarry and selected several times to exhibit in the British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge (UK).
As an invited artist she has taught workshops and skills classes in glassmaking and pate de verre (paste of glass) at North Lands Creative, Lybster Caithness (UK) ; Bild-Werk Frauenau in Bavaria Germany, Edinburgh Sculpture Worshop and Edinburgh University - College of Art (UK).
Her explorations in pate de verre (paste of glass) first explored during her Gulbenkian Kilnforming residency at North Lands Creative (2003) have been included in several publications, including Keith Cummings 'Contemporary Kilnformed Glass'.
copyright 2021 Karen Akester
