Biography

Karina Thompson is a textile artist based in Birmingham, England and has been exhibiting her work since 1987.

As a result of a research fellowship at Winchester School of Art, Karina began to experiment with the technique slashing and as a result began to increase the scale of her work.  She was shortlisted for Quilt 2004 and became a member of Quilt Art, a collective of some of Europe’s most respected quiltmakers in 2005.  Her work was chosen for the catalogue cover of ‘Quilts in time’, the opening exhibition of the Quilt Museum in St Anthony’s Hall, York in July 2007.  She has recently been selected for the world’s premier quilt competition Quilt National ’09.

“Whilst much of my work is an exploration of technique and materials, the English countryside is often a recurring theme. Suggestions of landscape are a particular favourite: the ambiguity of the horizon in the twilight of dawn or dusk, ploughed earth with a heavy frost upon it, chalk hills in fog or rain, fields of wheat in the wind. I am exploring the paradox of trying to make something beautiful with the controlled savagery of working materials to nearly the point of destruction. Through this I am seeking to produce textile wallpieces that allow the viewer the space to contemplate, reflect and then draw their own conclusions.”

Karina lives in Selly Park, Birmingham with her partner and two cats.