Denver Karsen Shai
I will often be found in my studio doing the things I love; writing, drawing, or painting.
Message
Selected exhibitions and recognition
2026 — Commissioned by CELF to mentor emerging photographers in Wales
2026 — Work from Legacy is on display in a current exhibition, Curator’s Lens: A Career in Collecting, at the prestigious National Library of Wales
2026 — Live performance in partnership with Aberration LGBTQ+ community group
2026 — Panel discussion, National Library of Wales, Portrait and Power
2025 — Commissioned contributor for Portrait and Power exhibition in the Gregynog Gallery, National Library of Wales
2024 — BA (Hons) Fine Art, Aberystwyth University
2023 — Shortlisted, Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London
Statement
Denver is a portrait photographer, artist, and writer based in Wales. Their work explores the human body as a site of identity, intimacy, and power — examined through photography, pencil drawing, and prose.
Their commissioned photography project Legacy is was on display at the National Library of Wales as part of the Portrait and Power exhibition (November 2025 – May 2026). In 2023, and is now held as part of their permanent collection. Photography project Out of the Dark, was shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize in association with the National Portrait Gallery, London; one of the most prestigious portrait photography awards in the world.
Denver holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University, and is currently completing an MA in Creative Writing with The Open University.