Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to announce ‘The Conspiracy of Blindness’, our fifth solo exhibition of British artist Gavin Turk at the London gallery (15th March – 10th May). The exhibition will reveal a recent series of still-life paintings that pay homage to early 20th century Italian artist Giorgio Morandi. In typical Turk style, he has subverted Morandi’s serene arrangements of vases and handmade vessels, by replacing the models with quotidian product packaging.The paintings in this anachronistic series are meticulously executed in a restricted tonal palette against a monochrome ground, some of the objects highlighted in accents of colour, inviting a close study of the rhythmically arranged lines and forms. The audience is encouraged to explore these curious juxtapositions, as empty containers from used products are elevated to classical models, while simultaneously reminding us of our consumer driven culture.

Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to announce ‘The Conspiracy of Blindness’, our fifth solo exhibition of British artist Gavin Turk at the London gallery (15th March – 10th May). The exhibition will reveal a recent series of still-life paintings that pay homage to early 20th century Italian artist Giorgio Morandi. In typical Turk style, he has subverted Morandi’s serene arrangements of vases and handmade vessels, by replacing the models with quotidian product packaging.

The Conspiracy of Blindness

MARUANI MERCIER is pleased to present Still Life, an exhibition of a new series of paintings by Gavin Turk, on view at the Knokke Zeedijk gallery from December 23, 2023 to January 21, 2024. In Still Life, Turk carefully paints images of product packaging arranged in a way that recalls the work of the artist Giorgio Morandi. Each work is uniquely framed, creating an impression that each work has had its own journey and has been brought back together for this exhibition. Conflating the slow and layered painterly process of classical still life with images of disposable objects, the works highlight the ever-accelerating pace of consumption in the present-day economy. “It’s a kind of proto-realistic method that includes images of not only what we throw away but a genre of painting.” – Gavin Turk The paintings are executed in a restricted tonal palette against a monochrome ground, some of the objects are highlighted in accents of colour, inviting a close study of rhythmically arranged lines and forms. Empty bottles in glass and plastic, reflect the hues of nearby objects, simultaneously alluding to the shortness of their shelf-life. Foregrounding empty containers as classical still-life models, Turk addresses the awkward invisibility of these items, designed to be discarded and ultimately devoid of tangible value to the consumer in a culture driven by convenience. Stripped of labels or branding, the quotidian nature of the shapes is nevertheless obvious in artwork titles which list all products employed in the composition in a kind of diaristic fashion. Indeed, all the products featured in the series were used by the artist or his friends and family, suggesting an unexpected role of food containers as traces of one’s presence over time. He says, "We are what we throw away." Presenting a considerable variance in shapes, the objects in the paintings emerge as relics of our material culture. Designed to evoke a specific psychic response, such as desire or trust in the product, images of packaging here summon a reflection on the nature and repercussions of our day-to-day consumer choices. This exploration of pathos and nostalgia serves as a reminder that in the detritus of our disposable culture, there exists an elusive meaning that can unlock the clues to what we might wish to take forward into our future.

MARUANI MERCIER is pleased to present Still Life, an exhibition of a new series of paintings by Gavin Turk, on view at the Knokke Zeedijk gallery from December 23, 2023 to January 21, 2024. In Still Life, Turk carefully paints images of product packaging arranged in a way that recalls the work of the artist Giorgio Morandi. Each work is uniquely framed, creating an impression that each work has had its own journey and has been brought back together for this exhibition.

Inside the Studio: Gavin Turk On His New Series 'Still Life

Enter the studio of British artist Gavin Turk as he describes his artistic style and past work in our first Inside the Artist's Studio (ITAS) of our 2022 Winter Auction.

Lot 200. Gavin Turk, 4 Eggs. Photograph on Paper.

Enter the studio of British artist Gavin Turk as he describes his artistic style and past work in our first Inside the Artist's Studio (ITAS) of our 2022 Winter Auction. Lot 200. Gavin Turk, 4 Eggs. Photograph on Paper.

A New Way of Seeing: Inside the Artist's Studio with Gavin Turk

A short video made during the exhibition 'Subradar' at Laure Genillard gallery, March 2022. Gavin speaks about the history of painted bronze sculpture, value, display and surrealism in relation to his work Pile (Wrapped Waste) 2016.

A short video made during the exhibition 'Subradar' at Laure Genillard gallery, March 2022. Gavin speaks about the history of painted bronze sculpture, value, display and surrealism in relation to his work Pile (Wrapped Waste) 2016.

GTTV 3: Painting Bronze

On 17th June 2022, acclaimed British artist Gavin Turk unveiled a new artwork at the heart of the CB1 development in central Cambridge. The sculpture, named ‘<a href="https://gtfront.platform-3.co.uk/artworks/2022/ariadne-wrapped">Ariadne (Wrapped)</a>’, is positioned outside of the city’s main station and is described by the artist as an “out-of-focus classical form” that plays against the colonnades of the station itself.

On 17th June 2022, acclaimed British artist Gavin Turk unveiled a new artwork at the heart of the CB1 development in central Cambridge. The sculpture, named ‘Ariadne (Wrapped)’, is positioned outside of the city’s main station and is described by the artist as an “out-of-focus classical form” that plays against the colonnades of the station itself.

Gavin Turk - Ariadne (Wrapped) 

Artists Piss- A Discussion, Kate Bryan, Viktor Wynd and Gavin Turk @ 15 Bateman Street London / 10th Dec 2021

Artists Piss- A Discussion, Kate Bryan, Viktor Wynd and Gavin Turk @ 15 Bateman Street London / 10th Dec 2021

GTTV 2: Collecting the Uncollectible

Gavin Turk was inspired by Maurizio Cattelan's controversial work titled 'Comedian' of 2019 where Cattelan taped a banana to the wall of Emmanuel Perrotin's booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. Turk imagined one eventuality of this work where the banana turned black then he cast this and the tape in bronze and painted them to create his work titled 'Giraffe'. This title makes reference to the cockney rhyming slang phrase 'you're having a giraffe' (meaning you're having a laugh) which alludes to the original 'Comedian' title of Cattelan's work as well as the eye-watering price tag that was attached to the original work.

Film by: Ben Brown Fine Arts&nbsp;

Food

Gavin Turk was inspired by Maurizio Cattelan's controversial work titled 'Comedian' of 2019 where Cattelan taped a banana to the wall of Emmanuel Perrotin's booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. Turk imagined one eventuality of this work where the banana turned black then he cast this and the tape in bronze and painted them to create his work titled 'Giraffe'.

Gavin Turk on Bananas

Artist Gavin Turk discusses his art practice and how he 'uses art history as a material'. The example he uses to illustrate this is a painting completed in 2021 titled 'Kerze II' that was inspired in various ways by works by Gerhard Richter, Jacques-Louis David and perhaps by previous works that Turk had done himself.

Kerze

Artist Gavin Turk discusses his art practice and how he 'uses art history as a material'. The example he uses to illustrate this is a painting completed in 2021 titled 'Kerze II' that was inspired in various ways by works by Gerhard Richter, Jacques-Louis David and perhaps by previous works that Turk had done himself.

Gavin Turk on 'KERZE'

Currently on New Bond Street as a part of 'Art in Mayfair' Gavin Turk's monumental sculpture, 'Oeuvre (Duck)' is on display. In this video Gavin speaks about eggs and explores the 'character of the egg' in his work.

Following in the footsteps of artists throughout the ages including Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali, René Magritte, Piero Manzoni, Marcel Broodthaers and Constantin Brancusi, eggs appear in Gavin Turk’s work as sculptural metaphors for the surreal philosophical puzzle; which came first, the chicken or egg? Symbols of life, of creation, of originality, fragility and mortality, Turk’s eggs appear as surreal faces, as giant duck eggs, as broken shells depicting his signature and in liquid form as mayonnaise and egg tempura paint. Turk's Oeuvre (Duck), familiar and domestic, in a natural open-air environment, is made comic and surreal by its sheer size. ⁠ ⁠

Eggs

Currently on New Bond Street as a part of 'Art in Mayfair' Gavin Turk's monumental sculpture, 'Oeuvre (Duck)' is on display. In this video Gavin speaks about eggs and explores the 'character of the egg' in his work.

Gavin Turk on Eggs 

The Droom en Daad Foundation has commissioned the restoration of the historical Fenix warehouse II in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. FENIX, Rotterdam’s newest cultural landmark, will open there in a few years’ time. FENIX shows the universal and global stories behind all the arrivals and departures of people to and from every corner of the world. Art and history will exhibit the universal and timeless stories of faith, hope and love.

The Artists short film series introduces the artists in the FENIX museum collection and their work. One of the works acquired for the museum is L' Âge d'Or by Gavin Turk. In this short film Turk introduces his work.

Op Rotterdam-Katendrecht wordt de historische Fenixloods II gerenoveerd in opdracht van Stichting Droom en Daad. Over enkele jaren opent hier FENIX, de nieuwe culturele landmark van Rotterdam. FENIX laat zien dat migratie van alle tijden is, een verhaal van vertrek en aankomst, van en naar alle windstreken. Kunst en geschiedenis komen samen in een universeel en tijdloos verhaal over geloof, hoop en liefde.

In de serie The Artists maak je kennis met de kunstenaars en hun werken, die onderdeel uitmaken van de FENIX museumcollectie. Een van de verworven werken is L' Âge d'Or van Gavin Turk. In deze korte video vertelt Turk over zijn werk.

Doors

The Droom en Daad Foundation has commissioned the restoration of the historical Fenix warehouse II in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. FENIX, Rotterdam’s newest cultural landmark, will open there in a few years’ time. FENIX shows the universal and global stories behind all the arrivals and departures of people to and from every corner of the world. Art and history will exhibit the universal and timeless stories of faith, hope and love.

FENIX Journeys | Gavin Turk | The Artists 

When faced with a 180m-deep borehole to cover, our designers worked with Gavin Turk to come up with a unique solution, plug it with a two tonne bronzed contemporary sculpture. Watch the construction and hear from the artist Gavin Turk, as his artwork Axis Mundi is installed canalside at Brunel Building W2.

When faced with a 180m-deep borehole to cover, our designers worked with Gavin Turk to come up with a unique solution, plug it with a two tonne bronzed contemporary sculpture. Watch the construction and hear from the artist Gavin Turk, as his artwork Axis Mundi is installed canalside at Brunel Building W2.

Axis Mundi at Brunel Building 

Disembodied from any room, structure or building, this ‘larger than life’ painted bronze door, is freestanding, open at 45°’s to the frame. This internal wooden door by Gavin Turk now placed in Regent's Park has different colours painted on each side, the door shows signs of age and wear which are painted onto its surface. Its giant bronze door handle and keyhole seem to shrink the viewer.

This work invokes Magritte’s painting La Victoire and the title references Luis Bunuel’s surreal film of the same name. It is a playful surrealist public artwork that the audience enjoys interacting with as a gateway to their imagination. L’Âge d’Or teases the audience to question notions of home, security, architecture and also the bolder concepts of inside and outside. The work can also be seen in the context of Marcel Duchamp’s door in rue Larrey and Jasper Johns’ painted bronze Ballentine beer cans.

Frieze Sculpture opens in the English Gardens of Regent's Park, London, from 5-18 October 2020 and is free and open to all. Video by Dave Bruel

Disembodied from any room, structure or building, this ‘larger than life’ painted bronze door, is freestanding, open at 45°’s to the frame. This internal wooden door by Gavin Turk now placed in Regent's Park has different colours painted on each side, the door shows signs of age and wear which are painted onto its surface. Its giant bronze door handle and keyhole seem to shrink the viewer.

L'Âge d'Or by Gavin Turk at Frieze Sculpture Park 2020

Eggshibition Easter 2020 A short film made after a live studio opening on 13th April also check @thisisnotgavinturk

Eggshibition Easter 2020 A short film made after a live studio opening on 13th April also check @thisisnotgavinturk

EGGSHIBITION

'In Conversation with...Gavin Turk’ is the fifth installment of our ongoing series of artist interviews. In this episode, Gavin Turk tells us about his new exhibition Letting Go. The artist talks about his ideas regarding the term ‘value’, consuming and his fascination with the plastic water bottle. The series 'In Conversation with...’ is aimed at introducing our artists and exhibitions at Reflex Amsterdam by sharing the artist's vision, as well as some more background information on the new work exhibited at the gallery. The videos also serve as a digital archive of our exhibitions from 2018 onwards. This video was made in context of the exhibition Gavin Turk: Letting Go, which is on show from 19 October – 06 December 2019 at Reflex Amsterdam.

Rubbish

'In Conversation with...Gavin Turk’ is the fifth installment of our ongoing series of artist interviews. In this episode, Gavin Turk tells us about his new exhibition Letting Go. The artist talks about his ideas regarding the term ‘value’, consuming and his fascination with the plastic water bottle. The series 'In Conversation with...’ is aimed at introducing our artists and exhibitions at Reflex Amsterdam by sharing the artist's vision, as well as some more background information on the new work exhibited at the gallery.

In Conversation with Gavin Turk

We are at an exciting but terrifying moment in history. The pivotal point on the roller coaster where the carriage slows right down - ready to speed up to a terrifying and exhilarating pitch. Only this time we don’t know if there is an end. Or a stop. Or just an abyss. We are the best of ourselves and the worst of ourselves. We know so much and can do so much - we have found the universal truth in the human. We know we have been just a moment in history and already we have moved from the great apes to the great dominator - the consumer of all things. We are exhilaratingly wise and we are profoundly stupid. At this moment we need levity, fun, playfulness and simplicity. We need colour, form, ideas and connectivity. We need the great recycling: The Becoming. The reminder of what has come before and could come next if we imagined it to be, or if we neglect to imagine at all. Gavin Turk presents his new exhibition, En Œuf, on 18 January 2019 at MARUANI MERCIER in Brussels. Meet the artist at th public opening on 17 January, from 5pm - 7:30pm.

We are at an exciting but terrifying moment in history. The pivotal point on the roller coaster where the carriage slows right down - ready to speed up to a terrifying and exhilarating pitch. Only this time we don’t know if there is an end. Or a stop. Or just an abyss. We are the best of ourselves and the worst of ourselves. We know so much and can do so much - we have found the universal truth in the human. We know we have been just a moment in history and already we have moved from the great apes to the great dominator - the consumer of all things.

Gavin Turk - on his Art 

Ivorypress presents 'White Van Man', a solo exhibition by British artist Gavin Turk. The show, open until 19 January 2019, delves into the current socio-political situation in the UK at the sight of the still unknown impact of Brexit, migration policies, the displacement of the British working class and, of course, Andy Warhol’s Death and Disaster series, focusing specifically on the subject of car crashes.

Ivorypress presents 'White Van Man', a solo exhibition by British artist Gavin Turk. The show, open until 19 January 2019, delves into the current socio-political situation in the UK at the sight of the still unknown impact of Brexit, migration policies, the displacement of the British working class and, of course, Andy Warhol’s Death and Disaster series, focusing specifically on the subject of car crashes.

Gavin Turk. ‘White Van Man’ 15/11/18 - 19/01/19

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Museum Van Loon has invited the British artist Gavin Turk to curate the exhibition Turkish Tulips. In this exposition, he explores the trading routes of the tulip from Turkey to the Netherlands. The Family Van Loon already traded with the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) in the sixteenth century.

Museum Van Loon has invited Gavin Turk (1967), one of the Young British Artists, to curate the exhibition Turkish Tulips. Turk presents a transhistorical dialogue between contemporary art and the history of the Van Loon family. The family already traded with the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) in the sixteenth century. These early trade routes inspired Gavin Turk to examine the trading route of the tulip from Turkey to the Netherlands. Together with The House of Fairy Tales, Turk has invited a group of fellow international artists – including Damien Hirst, Fiona Banner and Sir Peter Blake&nbsp;– to show their work alongside Turk's new and existing works.

  Museum Van Loon has invited the British artist Gavin Turk to curate the exhibition Turkish Tulips. In this exposition, he explores the trading routes of the tulip from Turkey to the Netherlands. The Family Van Loon already traded with the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) in the sixteenth century.

Turkish Tulips 

Gavin Turk Interview with Canvas, 2017&nbsp;

Is Gavin Turk an Egg? | Canvas Presents 

&nbsp;

We worked with local hero Gavin Turk to create the first major piece of art we’ve commissioned: L’Age d’Or, meaning ‘the Golden Age’ in French. An invitation to the creative community: the door is open. Find out how Gavin created this masterpiece and what L’Age d’Or is actually made of.

<h2 id="header">&nbsp;</h2>

  We worked with local hero Gavin Turk to create the first major piece of art we’ve commissioned: L’Age d’Or, meaning ‘the Golden Age’ in French. An invitation to the creative community: the door is open. Find out how Gavin created this masterpiece and what L’Age d’Or is actually made of.  

Making Public Art with Gavin Turk 

Project Beard sees the celebrated artist Gavin Turk turn back time and transform himself into great artists of the past. Following a series of trims by the beard experts from Murdock London, Turk will photograph himself as six artistic "Giants" from Art History.

The resulting print, 'Rodin, Morris, Cézanne, Matisse, Man Ray, Dali’, will be launched and for sale at the Spring 2015 edition of The Other Art Fair. An edition of 250, this £50 poster will be exclusively available for all visitors to The Other Art Fair.

***** The works for 'Project Beard' are very much in keeping with Turk's earlier works, which have seen him styled as icons of twentieth-century culture such as Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious and Che Guevara. The poster is titled 'Rodin, Morris, Cézanne, Matisse, Man Ray, Dali’ and is an edition of 250 and sold at just £50 each. The print editions of each of the 6 will be editions of 20 plus 5 Artist Proofs at £350.

All proceeds from Project Beard at The Other Art Fair will benefit children's charity The House of Fairy Tales.

Music: Ricky Eat Acid - Deximer 
Filmed &amp; Edited: William Smith 
Photography: Ester Keate 
Beard &amp; Hair Styling: Alex Glover &amp; Ryan MacGregor from Murdock London 
Wardrobe: John Spencer 
Hair and beard styling by Murdock London: murdocklondon.com

Moustaches & Beards

Project Beard sees the celebrated artist Gavin Turk turn back time and transform himself into great artists of the past. Following a series of trims by the beard experts from Murdock London, Turk will photograph himself as six artistic "Giants" from Art History. The resulting print, 'Rodin, Morris, Cézanne, Matisse, Man Ray, Dali’, will be launched and for sale at the Spring 2015 edition of The Other Art Fair. An edition of 250, this £50 poster will be exclusively available for all visitors to The Other Art Fair.

The Beard Project with Gavin Turk 

A short film on the British artist Gavin Turk, talking a major retrospective of his work at the Newport Street Gallery in London. The features Gavin in conversation with writer Ben Okri.

Identity

A short film on the British artist Gavin Turk, talking a major retrospective of his work at the Newport Street Gallery in London. The features Gavin in conversation with writer Ben Okri.

Gavin Turk; Who What When Where How & Why

A wander round Gavin Turk’s - “Ajar”, situated in St. Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Gardens, Bishopgate, London, EC2M. July 2016.

A wander round Gavin Turk’s - “Ajar”, situated in St. Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Gardens, Bishopgate, London, EC2M. July 2016.

Gavin Turk 'Ajar' - Sculpture in the City - 2016 

Meet an artist, who turns rubbish into art.

"I want art to be fun," Gavin Turk states. "Art is taken too seriously. It's authority has to be questioned." "If you take a piece of the world and put it into a gallery, then the object becomes a representation of what it was before, a pictorial version of itself." Gavin Turk (b. 1967) explains. At the same time these objects contain their own history, contain the story of culture. "It's important, how art relies on these contextual matters."

Gavin Turk, one of the members of the renowned YBA, (Young British Artists) has pioneered contemporary British sculpture with the use of rubbish in art. Among many other works, he has made art sculptures out of toilet rolls, flat tires and the core of an apple. In this interview, Turk talks about how he is at the point of throwing something away, but just before the rubbish hits the bin, he gives it a second glance and turns it into art sculptures. Art often seems unquestionable, but art has to be like a joke, Turk argues. "In the process of undermining itself, an artwork opens up for interpretation and reveals itself. I want art to be fun. I enjoy playing with the history and authority of art, it's authenticity." As he explains, "the value of art is that it can question value itself."

Gavin Turk studied at the Royal College of Art from 1989-1991, but never got his postgraduate degree. His graduation exhibition, which consisted of a whitewashed studio space containing only a blue heritage plaque stating, "Gavin Turk worked here, 1989-1991." Since then Gavin Turk has had numerous exhibitions around the world. Currently, Turk is travelling with different solo exhibition such as "Pense Bête" and "Home, Land, and Sea". Gavin Turk was interviewed at LARMgalleri by Kasper Bech Dyg. 
 
Camera: Klaus Elmer and Kasper Bech Dyg 
Edited by: Kasper Bech Dyg 
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner 
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2014

Trash

Meet an artist, who turns rubbish into art. "I want art to be fun," Gavin Turk states. "Art is taken too seriously. It's authority has to be questioned." "If you take a piece of the world and put it into a gallery, then the object becomes a representation of what it was before, a pictorial version of itself." Gavin Turk (b. 1967) explains. At the same time these objects contain their own history, contain the story of culture. "It's important, how art relies on these contextual matters."

Gavin Turk Interview: Art Needs to Question Itself 

Gavin Turk has long been interested in issues of authorship and identity; his artworks include images of himself disguised as Sid Vicious, Che Guevara and Andy Warhol amongst others. In his exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts in London, Turk pays hommage to the artist Alighiero Boetti, whose retrospective was at Tate Modern between 28 February - 27 May 2012. Boetti was a key member of Arte Povera, a group of young Italian artists in the late 1960s, who were working in radically new ways, using simple materials, to question authorship and identity themselves.

Film by: Tate

Boetti

Gavin Turk has long been interested in issues of authorship and identity; his artworks include images of himself disguised as Sid Vicious, Che Guevara and Andy Warhol amongst others. In his exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts in London, Turk pays hommage to the artist Alighiero Boetti, whose retrospective was at Tate Modern between 28 February - 27 May 2012. Boetti was a key member of Arte Povera, a group of young Italian artists in the late 1960s, who were working in radically new ways, using simple materials, to question authorship and identity themselves. Film by: Tate

Gavin Turk - Authorship and Identity | TateShots

As a key member of the Young British Artists (YBAs) alongside contemporaries Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk is no stranger to controversy. Beginning his career by famously failing his MA at the Royal College of Art, here he talks to us about Alighiero Boetti's influence on his work, which is revealed in his series of new art dominated by tapestry pieces for a major exhibition in London, which will coincide with the Boetti exhibition at Tate Modern. Crane.tv got an exclusive studio visit and talked to Turk about identity, ownership and why his artwork could have been "made by anyone."&nbsp;

As a key member of the Young British Artists (YBAs) alongside contemporaries Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk is no stranger to controversy. Beginning his career by famously failing his MA at the Royal College of Art, here he talks to us about Alighiero Boetti's influence on his work, which is revealed in his series of new art dominated by tapestry pieces for a major exhibition in London, which will coincide with the Boetti exhibition at Tate Modern.