Portrait of Gertrude Stein

Found Metal

She Sells Sea Shells on the Sea Shore

Found object

Alchemy

The Emperor's New T Shirt 

The Battle of Bidder Street 

Tulips are classically thought of as an icon of the Netherlands, however historically they arrive from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 17th Century. Gavin Turk blends associations with cultural heritage and identity, nature vs nurture. 

Here The Rite of Spring see’s the first fallen petal from the wilting flower of a Tulipa Gavin Turkish, a cultivar baptised by the Artist in 2017 part of a larger project Turkish Tulips.

The sculpture is carefully crafted in bronze, and painted to match the markings of the flower in its demise. 

The Rite of Spring

Painted bronze, wood and glass

Tulips are classically thought of as an icon of the Netherlands, however historically they arrive from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 17th Century. Gavin Turk blends associations with cultural heritage and identity, nature vs nurture. Here The Rite of Spring see’s the first fallen petal from the wilting flower of a Tulipa Gavin Turkish, a cultivar baptised by the Artist in 2017 part of a larger project Turkish Tulips.The sculpture is carefully crafted in bronze, and painted to match the markings of the flower in its demise.

Trompe L'oeil

Sculpture

Tulips are classically thought of as an icon of the Netherlands, however historically they arrive from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 17th Century. Gavin Turk blends associations with cultural heritage and identity, nature vs nurture. Here The Rite of Spring see’s the first fallen petal from the wilting flower of a Tulipa Gavin Turkish, a cultivar baptised by the Artist in 2017 part of a larger project Turkish Tulips. The sculpture is carefully crafted in bronze, and painted to match the markings of the flower in its demise.

I was interested in the object being a sqaure, whilst showing the edge of the arm holes. Vitruvius thought that a timeless notion of beauty could be learnt from the 'truth of nature', that nature's designs were based on universal laws of proportion and symmetry. He believed that the body's proportions could be used as a model of natural proportional perfection.

Cotton T Shirt over wooden stretcher

I was interested in the object being a sqaure, whilst showing the edge of the arm holes. Vitruvius thought that a timeless notion of beauty could be learnt from the 'truth of nature', that nature's designs were based on universal laws of proportion and symmetry. He believed that the body's proportions could be used as a model of natural proportional perfection.

Painting

Vitruvian Man

Fourteen framed watercolours on paper

Water Water Everywhere

A found object, made of steel has facetted panels, created by bends and twists, worn and shaped, the form alludes to a constructivist or cubist bust. The weather-beaten surface, rusted patina and the cobwebbed veil conjure up a Portrait of Madame Blavatsky. H.P Blavatsky (1831-1891) was the cofounder of the Theosophical Society in England, and a world-famous figure in the occult and esoterica. 

.....

Found Object, balanced, fascitated and suggestive and then what happens is it then through the cobwebs given the narrative or fantasy of being left behind.

Unattended lair. 

Dusty corner 

Uncovering 

Forgotten cubist 

Found Cubism 

Cubism Found 

Cubism with Veil 

Veiled Cubism 

Cloaked Cubism 

Portrait of Madame Blavatsky 


Portrait of Madame Blavatsky

Found Metal & Spiderweb

A found object, made of steel has facetted panels, created by bends and twists, worn and shaped, the form alludes to a constructivist or cubist bust. The weather-beaten surface, rusted patina and the cobwebbed veil conjure up a Portrait of Madame Blavatsky. H.P Blavatsky (1831-1891) was the cofounder of the Theosophical Society in England, and a world-famous figure in the occult and esoterica. .....Found Object, balanced, fascitated and suggestive and then what happens is it then through the cobwebs given the narrative or fantasy of being left behind.Unattended lair. Dusty corner Uncovering Forgotten cubist Found Cubism Cubism Found Cubism with Veil Veiled Cubism Cloaked Cubism Portrait of Madame Blavatsky

A found object, made of steel has facetted panels, created by bends and twists, worn and shaped, the form alludes to a constructivist or cubist bust. The weather-beaten surface, rusted patina and the cobwebbed veil conjure up a Portrait of Madame Blavatsky. H.P Blavatsky (1831-1891) was the cofounder of the Theosophical Society in England, and a world-famous figure in the occult and esoterica. ..... Found Object, balanced, fascitated and suggestive and then what happens is it then through the cobwebs given the narrative or fantasy of being left behind. Unattended lair.

Slashed Newsprint

Newsprint on paper

Art History

Kerze II

Oil and acrylic on canvas

Smoke

Fire

Kerze V Kerze 

Nucleus

Cave Drawing 2/1/21

Coloured pencil on paperPrint of font

Outsider

Cave Drawing 5/12/21

Coloured pencil on paperPrint of font

Cosmic Egg (Green Tyre) 

Mixed media and resin on plywood

Eggs

Enfant Terrible

Brass sheet

Fig etymologically can be traced back to an abbreviation of ‘figure’, namely that ‘which is formed’, thus a sea of elliptical references. Ficus is the Latin genus name for the fig plant. This fig leaf, depicted by the Artist as a falling autumnal leaf is a floating signifier leading the audience to question what is being concealed. The painted surface hides a bronze repoussage, where the metal is hammered and pressed into the leaf form. Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, upon consuming the forbidden fruit they developed a consciousness and realised they were naked, so to conceal their genitals they covered them with a fig leaf. As such the fig leaf holds a curious relation to sex, religion and censorship, as played out through the history of art.

Ficus

Painted bronze

Fig etymologically can be traced back to an abbreviation of ‘figure’, namely that ‘which is formed’, thus a sea of elliptical references. Ficus is the Latin genus name for the fig plant. This fig leaf, depicted by the Artist as a falling autumnal leaf is a floating signifier leading the audience to question what is being concealed. The painted surface hides a bronze repoussage, where the metal is hammered and pressed into the leaf form. Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, upon consuming the forbidden fruit they developed a consciousness and realised they were naked, so to conceal their genitals they covered them with a fig leaf. As such the fig leaf holds a curious relation to sex, religion and censorship, as played out through the history of art.

Fig etymologically can be traced back to an abbreviation of ‘figure’, namely that ‘which is formed’, thus a sea of elliptical references. Ficus is the Latin genus name for the fig plant. This fig leaf, depicted by the Artist as a falling autumnal leaf is a floating signifier leading the audience to question what is being concealed. The painted surface hides a bronze repoussage, where the metal is hammered and pressed into the leaf form.

Foundling

'I was dancing in the lesbian bar'

Paint on foam in frame

This provocative pop-py image of a yellow banana, against the shocking turquoise background, is a minimal still life, abandoned by the rest of the fruit bowl. This banana is an exotic and suggestive symbol of global trade, logistics, markets, and power as well as gender and sexuality. 'While in the process of painting this I nearly wrote 'This is not a Pipe’ or 'This is not Ariadne' underneath the reclining banana, but then I thought this was a red herring!’ The artist is playfully homaging the history of banana’s in art by artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, Georgio de Chirico, Andy Warhol and a more recently the provocative art fair gesture by Maurizio Cattelan. In 2005 Gavin Turk produced a series of banana fruit stickers and in 2013 created Banana a 4m neon sculpture that was exhibited in his show at the Bowes Museum, in October 2021 the Artist will reveal his new painted bronze banana 'Giraffe'.

This provocative pop-py image of a yellow banana, against the shocking turquoise background, is a minimal still life, abandoned by the rest of the fruit bowl. This banana is an exotic and suggestive symbol of global trade, logistics, markets, and power as well as gender and sexuality. 'While in the process of painting this I nearly wrote 'This is not a Pipe’ or 'This is not Ariadne' underneath the reclining banana, but then I thought this was a red herring!’ The artist is playfully homaging the history of banana’s in art by artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, Georgio de Chirico, Andy Warhol and a more recently the provocative art fair gesture by Maurizio Cattelan. In 2005 Gavin Turk produced a series of banana fruit stickers and in 2013 created Banana a 4m neon sculpture that was exhibited in his show at the Bowes Museum, in October 2021 the Artist will reveal his new painted bronze banana 'Giraffe'.

This provocative pop-py image of a yellow banana, against the shocking turquoise background, is a minimal still life, abandoned by the rest of the fruit bowl. This banana is an exotic and suggestive symbol of global trade, logistics, markets, and power as well as gender and sexuality.

Bananana

This work is from a series titled ‘Cosmic Eggs’, plywood already existing cut out egg shapes are used as tables in the production of other works, where overspray accidents and colour tests are sealed with layers of varnish and the edge finished. In this case the painting shows remnants of an experimental sprayed yellow paper structure, and a painted bronze brick. 

The egg is a symbol of spring, fragility, loss of innocence, the beginning and the end, luck or wealth. It's an oval or round reproductive body, a food store and a shield. Within art it is a visual shorthand for the surrealism of imagination, new life and un-hatched potential. The egg ushers in the next generation with new ideas realised. 

In this Strange New World, art offers levity, fun, playfulness and simplicity, as well as colourful forms, ideas and connections. If we can imagine, we can lead the reduce, re-use and recycle crusade. Gavin Turk is a master of recycling, that of Art history, of materials, of identity, of value and of ideas. 


Brick (egg)

This work is from a series titled ‘Cosmic Eggs’, plywood already existing cut out egg shapes are used as tables in the production of other works, where overspray accidents and colour tests are sealed with layers of varnish and the edge finished. In this case the painting shows remnants of an experimental sprayed yellow paper structure, and a painted bronze brick. The egg is a symbol of spring, fragility, loss of innocence, the beginning and the end, luck or wealth. It's an oval or round reproductive body, a food store and a shield. Within art it is a visual shorthand for the surrealism of imagination, new life and un-hatched potential. The egg ushers in the next generation with new ideas realised. In this Strange New World, art offers levity, fun, playfulness and simplicity, as well as colourful forms, ideas and connections. If we can imagine, we can lead the reduce, re-use and recycle crusade. Gavin Turk is a master of recycling, that of Art history, of materials, of identity, of value and of ideas.

This work is from a series titled ‘Cosmic Eggs’, plywood already existing cut out egg shapes are used as tables in the production of other works, where overspray accidents and colour tests are sealed with layers of varnish and the edge finished. In this case the painting shows remnants of an experimental sprayed yellow paper structure, and a painted bronze brick. The egg is a symbol of spring, fragility, loss of innocence, the beginning and the end, luck or wealth. It's an oval or round reproductive body, a food store and a shield.

Cave Drawing 11/1/21

You must be having a giraffe (laugh)! This is not a giraffe, it’s a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape and now at a point of decompositional stasis. 
 
The work, a successful trompe l’oeil, cast bronze, painted and sculptured to resemble a black banana stuck to the art fair booth by Duct tape. Referencing the artwork cultural moment/meme Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan. 

On the inner curve of the banana, is a Rainforest alliance sticker, a picture of a cute Amazonian tree frog, which alludes to the real Amazon which is cut down and replaced by single crop banana plantations, to fed western consumer needs, not so cute. 


Giraffe  

You must be having a giraffe (laugh)! This is not a giraffe, it’s a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape and now at a point of decompositional stasis. The work, a successful trompe l’oeil, cast bronze, painted and sculptured to resemble a black banana stuck to the art fair booth by Duct tape. Referencing the artwork cultural moment/meme Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan. On the inner curve of the banana, is a Rainforest alliance sticker, a picture of a cute Amazonian tree frog, which alludes to the real Amazon which is cut down and replaced by single crop banana plantations, to fed western consumer needs, not so cute.

Food

Fruit

You must be having a giraffe (laugh)! This is not a giraffe, it’s a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape and now at a point of decompositional stasis. The work, a successful trompe l’oeil, cast bronze, painted and sculptured to resemble a black banana stuck to the art fair booth by Duct tape. Referencing the artwork cultural moment/meme Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan.