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About The Artist

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“I use multiple layers of paint to cover and expose, constantly searching for new images and emotions. Without tiring the viewer, the work leads both myself and the viewers to feel excited, involved and ultimately experience self-fulfilment.”

  Karen Lasserre is a South African artist who lives and works in Pretoria. She is mostly self-taught but two years mentorship at Pro-Arte School moulded her greatly. Lasserre started painting professionally in 1997 with her first solo exhibition at Karen McKerron Gallery.

In 2002 and 2003 she studied Visual Arts at Unisa, Pretoria, and in 2001, 2003 and 2008 respectively, she stayed and worked for two months at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris. Between 1997 and 2009 Lasserre presented solo exhibitions at Karen McKerron Gallery, Bryanston, Johannesburg, Chelsea Gallery, Cape Town, the Arts Association, Pretoria, Voir Gallery, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Alliance Française, Johannesburg, Fried Contemporary, Pretoria and Dawid’s Choice Gallery, Sandton, Johannesburg. She participated in group exhibitions at at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, The Skukan Gallery, Pretoria, the KKNK, and Art Lovers 1932, Pretoria.

In 2018, after a long sabbatical, Lasserre’s work took a new form and she started painting only abstracts filled with abundance, colour and generosity of spirit, simply experiencing the sheer joy of painting and feeling alive.

Lasserre’s work is represented in Absa Bank and GTS corporate collections, and in private collections in Belgium, England, France, Holland, Germany, South Africa, Japan and the U.S.A.

Exhibitions & Projects:

  • 1997 – Solo exhibition at Karen McKerron Gallery, Bryanston, Johannesburg.
  • 1998 – Solo exhibition at Chelsea Gallery, Cape Town.
  • 1999 – Solo exhibition at Karen McKerron Gallery, Bryanston, Johannesburg.
  • 2001 – Two-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris. Group exhibition.
  • 2001 – Solo exhibition at the Arts Association Pretoria.
  • 2002-2003 – Studied Visual Arts at Unisa, Pretoria.
  • 2003 – Joint exhibition at The Skukan Gallery, Pretoria.
  • 2003 – Two-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris. Solo exhibition in the South African studio.
  • 2006 – Solo exhibition at the Voir Gallery, Brooklyn, Pretoria
  • 2007 – Solo exhibition at Alliance Française, Johannesburg
  • 2007 – Selected for the group exhibition “Flesh”, KKNK.
  • 2008 – Two-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
  • 2008 – Solo exhibition at Fried Contemporary, Pretoria
  • 2009 – Solo exhibition at Dawid’s Choice Gallery, Sandton, Johannesburg.
  • 2022 – Online Exhibition curated by Art lovers.


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