Dr. Karen Roulstone (1963 – 2019)
Dr Karen Roulstone was a British-Canadian artist whose practice of fine art, abstract painting explores themes of absence, memory, and temporality. Born in Toronto in 1963, she later lived and worked in Plymouth and Glasgow, becoming an influential figure within contemporary art education in the UK, as Head of Painting and Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art, while maintaining an internationally exhibited artistic practice.
Roulstone’s work was exhibited widely across the UK, Europe, Canada, and the United States, including presentations at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the John Moores Painting Prize, and the Liverpool Biennial. Alongside her studio work, she was an active writer and contributor to contemporary art discourse.
Her final solo exhibition, Unter dem stillen Himmel (Under the Still Sky), was presented in 2019 at Kunstverein Emmerich in Germany. Since her death, interest in her work has continued through exhibitions and collections in the UK and internationally.
Born in Toronto in 1963 to British parents, she was raised in the UK, before returning to Canada as an adult. Karen developed an early commitment to painting and contemporary art that would later expand into critical writing and interdisciplinary research. She studied Fine Art at Exeter University, graduating with distinction in 1986, before completing a Master of Arts at York University in 1992.
In the 1990s, Roulstone established herself within the Toronto art scene, exhibiting in numerous solo and group exhibitions including shows at Tableau Vivant, Archive, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Red Head Gallery. She also had solo exhibitions such as Decipher (1999) at A.R.C. Gallery in Chicago and Reconfiguring Absence (2002) at Wilfrid Laurier University.
After moving back to the UK in the early 2000s, she completed a PhD in Fine Art at Plymouth University in 2007.
Alongside her artistic practice, Karen became a highly respected educator. She was a Fine Art Lecturer at Plymouth University from 2008, before becoming MA Programme Leader for Contemporary Art Practice at Plymouth University.
In 2017, she joined Glasgow School of Art as Head of Painting and Printmaking, a position she held until her passing in 2019.
Extended residencies in Berlin and Gothenburg during the 2010s were also significant. Her Berlin residency at Ateliergemeinschaft Milchhof e.V in 2011 resulted in important exhibitions, such as Transient Luminous (2012). Works from this period frequently explored light and the instability of visual memory.
Her residency at Konstepidemin, Gothenberg in 2014 inspired the Blå Huset series, pieces from which were included in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2016. Karen’s works were also selected for the John Moores Painting Prize exhibitions in Liverpool, affirming her standing within contemporary painting in Britain.
Around this time she founded The Alamo Project, an artist led studio initiative based in Millbay, Plymouth, with partner Connor McIntyre. The Alamo offered a mentoring environment for emerging artists, and regularly hosted exhibitions, including their Toxic Atomic group exhibition in 2017.
Connor helps to continue her legacy through posthumous joint exhibitions, such as Absence (2026) at theundergroundstream gallery.
Karen Roulstone’s final solo exhibition, Unter dem stillen Himmel (Under the Still Sky), took place in 2019 at Kunstverein Emmerich in Germany.
In 2025, a set of Karen’s work was included in the On Waking exhibition at the Limerick City Gallery of Art, and in 2026 at theundergroundstream gallery in the South Hams.
Karen is remembered fondly and greatly missed by her family, friends and former students.
