Jan 25 to May 4, 2025
Karen Kar Yen Law: Better Bitter
About the Exhibition
Markham-based artist Karen Kar Yen Law 羅加欣 works primarily with monoprints, blending the structured layers of printmaking with the fluid expressiveness of painting.
Hand-cut stencils are central to her process, creating precise shapes and patterns that build visual layers and reveal or mask parts of the composition. Through colour layering, she forms negative and positive spaces that enhance or obscure underlying forms. Law also incorporates experimental techniques, like using stencils to expose parts of her canvases to the sun.
Law’s work is deeply shaped by her Chinese heritage, particularly its cuisine, where balance in flavour—such as the transformation of bitterness—is essential. In her latest work, the bitter melon serves as a symbol for exploring the concept of bitterness, both as a flavour and an emotional experience.
About the Artist
Karen Kar Yen Law is an emerging artist and educator living and practicing in Unionville, Ontario. Following the completion of Fine Art and Education degrees at Queen’s University, she was the 2021-2022 Emerging Printmaker Scholarship Residency holder at Open Studio Contemporary Printmaking Centre where she now practices as an artist member. Law was the winner of the 2023 Untapped People’s Choice Award at Toronto’s independent artists fair, Artist Project. Law’s work has been exhibited throughout Kingston and Toronto, Ontario including Union Gallery, the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts, Gallery 1313, Museum Toronto, and Open Studio.
