Karri McPherson
Born in Hong Kong, SAR
Lives & works in Canberra, Australia
Karri McPherson is a geometric abstract artist working across painting, murals and public art. For over a decade, her practice has been built around the same core fascination: the relationships between geometric forms; how they overlap, converge, create tension and find unexpected harmony.
Her paintings use hard-edged planes of bold, layered colour to create compositions that are deliberately beautiful. They are luminous, precise and designed to hold the eye. But beneath the surface, the work asks quieter questions about structure, balance and what we choose to pay attention to. Recent works explore the tension between beauty and meaning, investigating how visual pleasure can function as both a gift and a distraction.
Colour is central to the work. Shifting, intersecting hues create the illusion of translucency and depth - planes that appear to sit in front of and behind each other, light that seems to pass through form. These layered interactions invite viewers to slow down and look more carefully, finding their own connections within the compositions.
Karri's practice has increasingly moved beyond the canvas. Her paintings now incorporate vinyl elements that extend onto the gallery wall, breaking the boundaries that typically contain an artwork. Alongside her studio practice, she has painted over 25 murals across Australia and the United States, and has designed large-scale public art installations, bringing the energy and rigour of geometric abstraction into everyday spaces.
Karri holds a Bachelor of Creative Art with First Class Honours from the University of Southern Queensland. Her work is held in collections nationally and internationally.
CV
Education
2015 - 2020
Bachelor of Creative Arts (HONS)
First Class Honours
The University of Southern Queensland
Awards
2020
Winner of the Brenda Clouten Travelling Scholarship, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW.
2018
Acquired Artist, Biennial Emerging Artist Award, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, QLD.
2017
Emerging Artist Award, GraduArt, Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba QLD.
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Back and Forth, Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre, SA.
2022 Form/Function, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, NSW.
2022 More Than Meets the Eye, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, ACT.
2018 A Matter of Form, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba, QLD.
2017 In Any Way, Shape or Form, Red Door Gallery, Toowoomba, QLD.
Residencies, Grants and Scholarships
2023 Resident Artist, Australian National Veterans Arts Museum, Melbourne, Victoria.
2022 Resident Artist, Gullkistan Centre for Creativity, Laugarvatn, Iceland.
2020 Maitland City Council’s ‘Creative Streets: After Dark’ Grant.
2020 Brenda Clouten Travelling Scholarship, Maitland Regional Art Gallery.
2019 The New Colombo Plan Scholarship Program
2017 Public A.I.R Residency and Mentoring Program, First Coat Studios, Toowoomba.
Group Exhibitions
2026. (Forthcoming) Colour, Remembered, UniSQ Art Gallery, Toowoomba.
2026 (Forthcoming) Locals, Outre Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria.
2025 4th Australian Biennale of Reductive Arts, A Block Gallery, Toowoomba.
2025 Abstraction, Royal Queensland Art Society, Brisbane.
2025 Assembly, Jacky Winter Gallery, Victoria.
2025 St Columba's Art Prize, Springwood, New South Wales.
2025 Off Cuts, Qubit Gallery, Darwin.
2025 Land Sea Sky 2, Petite Collection, Virtual Exhibition.
2025 Previous Owner, A Block Gallery, UniSQ, Toowoomba.
2025 A Bit Weird, A Bit Rebellious, Untitled Gallery, Darwin.
2024 Highly Commended, Duality, Flow Studios, Sydney.
2024 Fill Your Eyes 2, Foyer Gallery, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.
2024 Petite Pieces Art Prize, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane.
2023 Biennial of Reductive and Non-Objective Art, Touring Exhibition, Australia.
2023 March to Art: Create, ANVAM, Melbourne.
2023 Fill Your Eyes, Foyer Gallery, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.
2022 Fifty Squared, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne.
2021 Que Des Femmes / Only Women, Red Door Gallery, Toowoomba.
2021 Fragile States, Lasso Gallery, Toowoomba.
2021 Fresh Meat, First Coat Studios, Toowoomba.
2021 Across the Borders, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.
2021 Eleven Under Thirty, The New Artisans Gallery, Sydney.
2020 9 by 5, Walker Street Gallery, Melbourne.
2020 SICS Degrees, Murky Waters Studio, Townsville.
2020 2020 Brenda Clouten Travelling Scholarship, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland.
2020 State of Diversity (Qld Regional Art Awards), Touring Show, Flying Arts Alliance., Brisbane.
2020 Boiling Point, Group Charity Exhibition, The Third Quarter, Brisbane.
2019 GraduArt 2019, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba.
2019 Biennale of Reductive and Non-Objective Art, Store Building, Sydney.
2019 Show Me, Dunmore Gallery, Toowoomba.
2019 Art Haus V, Artsworx Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba.
2019 Foot Square, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane.
2019 Emerging Artist Award, Fortyfive Downstairs, Melbourne.
2019 Moreton Bay Art Awards, Strathpine Community Centre, Strathpine.
2019 Corporeal Experiences, The Apothecary Gallery, Chattanooga, TN.
2019 Grammar Art Show, Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba.
2019 Abstract, Gallery Ring, Juried Virtual Exhibition.
2019 8 x 10 Group Exhibition, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange.
2019 50 Squared, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne.
2018 More, More, More, First Coat Studios, Toowoomba.
2018 Young Artist Award, Royal Queensland Art Society, Brisbane.
2018 Future Now, First Coat Studios, Toowoomba.
2018 New Modern, Red Door Project Gallery, Toowoomba.
2018 Emerging Artist Award, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba.
2018 Art Haus IV, Artsworx Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba.
2018 Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne.
2018 Stanthorpe Art Prize, Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Stanthorpe.
2018 Life Abstracted, Cambridge Studio Gallery, Melbourne.
2018 Milburn Art Prize, Brisbane Institute of Art, Brisbane.
2018 Grammar Art Show, Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba.
2017 GraduArt 2017, Artsworx Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Future Now, No Comply Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Semiprecious, No Comply Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Downlands Art Exhibition, Downlands, Toowoomba.
2017 Art Haus III, Artworx Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Trans, Raygun Lab, Toowoomba.
2017 Shifting Sands, No Comply Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Public A.I.R. Exhibition, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba.
2017 Grammar Art Show, Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba.
2016 Fast Plant III, No Comply Gallery, Toowoomba.
2016 Art Haus II, Artsworx Foyer Gallery, Toowoomba.
2016 Islands Off the Coast, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba.
2016 Grammar Art Show, Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba.