Gavin Turk’s fascination with waste is a recurring theme throughout his body of work,&nbsp;exploring its aesthetic, function and value. His solo show at Reflex Amsterdam in October 2019 featured watercolours, painted bronze sculptures, found objects and large silkscreen prints, which investigate&nbsp;the environmental consequences of human existence and consumer society.&nbsp;

 
“Climate is increasingly becoming a vital subject for artists as they hold their mirrors up to society,”&nbsp;says Turk, who was arrested in 2018 for obstructing a public highway as part of the Extinction&nbsp;Rebellion climate change protest in London which saw thousands of people occupy five central&nbsp;London bridges.

“Being arrested was like laying down a marker, and enabled unity with movements&nbsp;such as Extinction Rebellion - to wake up politicians to the undeniable evidence that humans are&nbsp;responsible for a dramatic change in the world’s ecosystem - and together to do something about it.”

<a href="https://gtfront.platform-3.co.uk/about/publications/letting-go">Catalogue.</a>

Installation photo of Letting Go - Solo show by Gavin Turk 

Gavin Turk’s fascination with waste is a recurring theme throughout his body of work, exploring its aesthetic, function and value. His solo show at Reflex Amsterdam in October 2019 featured watercolours, painted bronze sculptures, found objects and large silkscreen prints, which investigate the environmental consequences of human existence and consumer society. 

Letting Go

Le Rêve d'être Artiste was an exhibition organised by the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille for El Dorado, the 5th themed edition of Lille3000. The exhibition told the story of how myth is constructed, the story of the artist who wants to become immortal.

Turk’s Self-Portrait (Fountain) (2012) was shown alongside works by iconic artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Marina Abramović, Jacques Louis David, Edouard Manet, Wim Delvoye, Jeff Koons and Pilar Albarracín. 

In six chapters and around a hundred decrypted works, themes such as signature, self-representation, genius or even corporatism are approached: paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, but also extracts from films, television programs, are all at the service of a story, that of the irresistible rise of the Artist.

Self Portrait (Fountain), 2012 

Le Rêve d'être Artiste was an exhibition organised by the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille for El Dorado, the 5th themed edition of Lille3000. The exhibition told the story of how myth is constructed, the story of the artist who wants to become immortal. Turk’s Self-Portrait (Fountain) (2012) was shown alongside works by iconic artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Marina Abramović, Jacques Louis David, Edouard Manet, Wim Delvoye, Jeff Koons and Pilar Albarracín.

Le Rêve d'être Artiste 

Auto-Destruct was a Summer Exhibition by Cross Lanes project relating to and reflecting upon the nature of our aspirational technological inventions and the destructive nature they become. Many of the works included regard the automobile as the device seen as liberation, independence, a revolution for mankind; that has in fact led to wars, contributed to climate change and is responsible for over 3000 deaths a day. 

The exhibition’s title was inspired by the work of Gustav Metzger (1926 – 2017). Metzger’s career was about alerting us to the risks in our deluded pursuit of technological progress, and of humans being eclipsed by their machine selves. Auto-destructive art was inherently political; also carrying anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist messages. The exhibition examined themes of our fascination and capacity to be seduced by world changing inventions and technologies that may or may not lead to improvements.

Turk’s Transit Disaster (2012) was presented alongside works by:&nbsp;Steve Carr, Jake &amp; Dinos Chapman, Cedric Christie, Jean Luc Dubin, Lee Holden, Graeme Miller, Simon Liddiment, Stacie McCormick, Elena Montesinos, Owen Oppenheimer, Ben Philpott, Jay Price, Pascal Rousson, Rebecca Scott, and Tisna Westerhof.

Auto-Destruct was a Summer Exhibition by Cross Lanes project relating to and reflecting upon the nature of our aspirational technological inventions and the destructive nature they become. Many of the works included regard the automobile as the device seen as liberation, independence, a revolution for mankind; that has in fact led to wars, contributed to climate change and is responsible for over 3000 deaths a day.

Auto-Destruct

In the summer of 2019, Domo Baal presented Backyard Sculpture, a collection assembled by David Gates &amp; Neil Gall. The collection was comprised of sculptural works with a ‘junk/backyard’ aesthetic. 

The exhibition brought together art with a largely D.I.Y feel, or that referred to the ‘garden’ part of the show title; such as Turk’s painted bronze Lotus (2005) which featured alongside works by renowned artists such as Derek Jarman, Eduardo Paolozzi, Phyllida Barlow, Alison Wilding and the curators, David Gates and Neil Gall.

Other featured artists included:&nbsp;Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Alice Wilson, Andrew Curtis, Andrew Logan, Aubrey Haskard, Benjamin Houlihan, Brendan Reid, Carl D'Alvia, Carol Robertson, Cathy De Monchaux, Chantal Powell, Clare Mitten, Dan Knight, Derrick Guild, Drew Edwards, Edward Chell, Eric Bainbridge, Finn Thomson, Ian Dawson, International Lawns, Jack Lavender, James Rielly, Jen Binnie, Jock McFadyen, Joel Tomlin, John Chilver, Lothar Götz, Mark Francis, Matt Calderwood, Matt Hale, Maud Cotter, Mel Kendrick, Mhairi Vari, Michelle Segre, Mills Power, Neil Zakiewicz, Nicky Hirst, Peter László Péri, Rachel Adams, Richard Woods, Roger Ackling, Rosa Nguyen, Rupert Ackroyd, Simon English, Stefan Löffelhardt, Stephen Nelson, Tash Kahn, The Rural College of Art, Trevor Sutton.

Backyard Sculpture

In the summer of 2019, Domo Baal presented Backyard Sculpture, a collection assembled by David Gates & Neil Gall. The collection was comprised of sculptural works with a ‘junk/backyard’ aesthetic.

Following in the footsteps of artists through the ages including Bosch, Dali, Magritte, Manzoni, Broodthaers and Brancusi, eggs appear in Gavin Turk's work as a motif or sculpture metaphor. A symbol of life and creation, fragility and mortality, eggs appear as giant totems, surreal heads and signatures ade from broken shells, as well as within the symbolic liquid forms of mayonnaise and egg tempera paint. His oversided&nbsp;Hare Egg&nbsp;and&nbsp;Duck Rabbit&nbsp;have created mythical new hybrids echoed now in the timeless&nbsp;Oeuvre (Verdigris)&nbsp;cast in bronze.&nbsp;

Transforming eggs from the sacred to the profane, a symbol of creation to something created: the artist explores the contemporary relationship between life and art. The egg as the ultimate metaphysical form.&nbsp;

Gavin Turk's&nbsp;Portrait of an Egg&nbsp;project is collecting contributions from photographers, artists and poets from all over the world. The resulting images can be seen downstairs in the Great Arch Hall of Somerset House during Photo London 15th - 19th May 2019.&nbsp;

Thanks to: Ben Brown Fine Arts | Photo London | Somserset House | Luma Foundation&nbsp;

Oeuvre (Verdigris), 2019 installed at Somerset House 

Installation

Following in the footsteps of artists through the ages including Bosch, Dali, Magritte, Manzoni, Broodthaers and Brancusi, eggs appear in Gavin Turk's work as a motif or sculpture metaphor. A symbol of life and creation, fragility and mortality, eggs appear as giant totems, surreal heads and signatures ade from broken shells, as well as within the symbolic liquid forms of mayonnaise and egg tempera paint.

Oeuvre (Verdigris)

This ambitious project by Gavin Turk – in collaboration with Photo London, Somerset House and Ben Browns Fine Arts – featured the installation of his giant bronze egg sculpture, Oeuvre, on the Embankment terrace. 

The sculpture served as an invitation to the world’s photographers to collaborate on an art installation titled: Gavin Turk - Portrait of an egg. Entries were submitted to <a href="http://www.gavinturkegg.art">www.gavinturkegg.art</a> and were displayed in a public installation as part of Photo London 2019.

This ambitious project by Gavin Turk – in collaboration with Photo London, Somerset House and Ben Browns Fine Arts – featured the installation of his giant bronze egg sculpture, Oeuvre, on the Embankment terrace.

Portrait of an Egg

In 2019, Gavin Turk was asked to curate an exhibition of YBA work for the British Art Fair and Saatchi Gallery which the artist titled MYBA. Turk dedicated the show to the memories of Angus Fairhurst (1966–2008) and Karsten Schubert (1961–2019) who had passed away earlier the same year.

The exhibition featured works by key artists from the YBA movement including: Damien Hirst, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Angus Fairhurst, Gary Hume, Michael Landy, Abigail Lane, Sarah Lucas, Rachel Whiteread, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Jane Simpson and, of course, Gavin Turk.

MYBA

In 2019, Gavin Turk was asked to curate an exhibition of YBA work for the British Art Fair and Saatchi Gallery which the artist titled MYBA. Turk dedicated the show to the memories of Angus Fairhurst (1966–2008) and Karsten Schubert (1961–2019) who had passed away earlier the same year.

En Oeuf is enough! Or, ‘in egg’, in English…

The centrepiece of the exhibition was Oeuvre (Verdigris), 2018, from the artist’s Bronze Oeuvre series. The large, public work is cast in bronze and patinated to resemble the mottled surface of a wild duck egg. Verdigris, the natural colour of bloomed bronze, has a translucent living iridescence that resembles the surface of a real egg.

This iconic artwork is minimal, playful and surreal. The egg is the frame, the hermetically sealed, protective shield for the life form within. All window, all wall, the familiar shape is nature’s perfect mould. A genderless, fluid object that holds limitless possibilities and &nbsp;potential within its simple, lucid form.

Alongside Verdigris featured a number of other sculptural pieces including Turk’s freestanding painted bronze doorways (2018) and his Wittgenstein and Boetti works: Telesthesia (2015) and Self portrait, Fountain (2012).

Also on display were some of the artist’s ‘Egg Geometrics’, a series of brightly coloured acrylics on canvas depicting optimistic, simple geometric forms of eggs bisected; and his ‘Egg Pairs’, playful couplets of egg-shaped canvases placed in conversation.

Eggs

En Oeuf is enough! Or, ‘in egg’, in English… The centrepiece of the exhibition was Oeuvre (Verdigris), 2018, from the artist’s Bronze Oeuvre series. The large, public work is cast in bronze and patinated to resemble the mottled surface of a wild duck egg. Verdigris, the natural colour of bloomed bronze, has a translucent living iridescence that resembles the surface of a real egg.

En Oeuf

Following a long-established art historical tradition, eggs have a metaphorical role in Gavin Turk’s work. A symbol of life and creation, originality and mortality, eggs feature in his practice as giant totems, surreal heads and signatures made from broken shells, as well as in liquid forms as mayonnaise, and egg tempera paint. In total, Turk has created over 600 artworks where the egg is present.

Oeuvre (Verdigris)&nbsp;is made of bronze and features markings reminiscent of a duck egg. Placed in a natural landscape setting at YSP, this oversized egg seems realistic and familiar, whilst also being comic and surreal due to its scale.&nbsp;Oeuvre (Verdigris)&nbsp;is part of a series of works based on different birds’ eggs. Their titles play on the similarity between the word for the life’s work of an artist – ‘Oeuvre’ – and the French word for egg – ‘oeuf’.

Courtesy of Gavin Turk’s studio and Ben Brown Fine Arts.

Further information <a href="https://ysp.org.uk/art-outdoors/oeuvre-verdigris">here</a>.&nbsp;

Following a long-established art historical tradition, eggs have a metaphorical role in Gavin Turk’s work. A symbol of life and creation, originality and mortality, eggs feature in his practice as giant totems, surreal heads and signatures made from broken shells, as well as in liquid forms as mayonnaise, and egg tempera paint. In total, Turk has created over 600 artworks where the egg is present.