Gavin Turk
Encyclopedia
Gavin Turk is a British
artist
and one of the Young British Artists
(YBAs). He often uses his own image in life-size sculpture
s of famous people.
, Surrey
. He attended the Royal College of Art
, in London. In 1991, the tutors refused to give him the final degree because of his show, called Cave, which consisted of a whitewashed studio space, containing only a blue heritage plaque
(of the kind normally found on historic buildings) commemorating his own presence as a sculptor. This bestowed some instant notoriety on Turk, whose work was collected by Charles Saatchi
.
Turk pieces often involves his own image disguised as that of a more famous person. He has cast himself in a series of detailed life sized sculptures as different romantic heroes, including Sid Vicious
, Jean-Paul Marat
and the leftist revolutionary Che Guevara
.
Turk's work Pop is a waxwork of Turk as Sid Vicious
in white jacket and black trousers, pointing a gun—a work which toured London, Berlin and New York as part of the 1997 exhibit Sensation (art exhibition)—appropriated the stance of Andy Warhol
's painting of Elvis Presley
, thereby depicting Turk himself (like Presley) as a cowboy.
Turk has also appropriated recognizable elements from Jacques Louis David, Yves Klein
, Marcel Duchamp
, Andy Warhol
, Rene Magritte
, and Jasper Johns
.
Ambiguity features as much as self-obsession throughout Turk's work. What appeared to be a discarded plastic rubbish bag was in fact a bronze sculpture of one. This ambiguity is also addressed in works like Nomad (red) (2003) which looks like a sleeping bag, but is bronze, and Box (2002), which looks like cardboard but is also bronze. A large industrial skip (normally yellow, battered and covered in rust) was also painted an immaculate gloss black. Turk turned up at the private view of the Sensation exhibition at the solemn Royal Academy
, London, dressed as a down-and-out.
A set of what appeared to be classic posters of Che Guevara
in a beret, revealed themselves on further scrutiny to be photos of Turk himself. Turk alleged that the management of London's (now defunct) Millennium Dome
refused to display his Che Gavara (sic) sculpture, for fear of offending arms-manufacturing Dome sponsor BAe/Marconi (however a correspondent in Art Monthly
magazine pointed out that work by the highly political left-wing cartoonist Ralph Steadman
was being exhibited in the Dome at the same time).
Turk has participated in group exhibitions, including the Istanbul Biennial (1999), ‘Century City’, Tate Modern
, London (2001), ‘Remix: Contemporary Art and Pop’, Tate Liverpool
(2002) and ‘Coollustre’, Collection Lambert en Avignon (2003), and 'Pop Life: Art in a Material World' (2009-). Solo exhibitions include South London Gallery (1998), Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva (2000), The New Art Gallery, Walsall
(2002), New Art Centre Sculpture Park and Gallery, Salisbury (2003), Schloss Eggenberg, Graz (2006), GEM Museum of Contemporary Arts in The Hague
(2007), Le Magasin
, Grenoble
(2007), Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel
(2008). Turk has also been involved in "teach-in" events such as "The Che Gavara (sic) Story" (2001).
In 2007, Turk embarked on a project with his partner Deborah Curtis. The duo have been running a project based troupe of artists, The House of Fairy Tales
, which was designed to further community education projects based supported by, and advocating, art. The House of Fairy Tales
tour the country in a mobile gallery horse box which made its festival debut at the 2008 Crunch
festival in Hay-on-Wye. In 2009, they appeared at the Glastonbury Festival.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and one of the Young British Artists
Young British Artists
Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London, in 1988...
(YBAs). He often uses his own image in life-size sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s of famous people.
Life and work
Gavin Turk was born in GuildfordGuildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He attended the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, in London. In 1991, the tutors refused to give him the final degree because of his show, called Cave, which consisted of a whitewashed studio space, containing only a blue heritage plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
(of the kind normally found on historic buildings) commemorating his own presence as a sculptor. This bestowed some instant notoriety on Turk, whose work was collected by Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi is the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and led that business - the world's largest advertising agency in the 1980s - until they were forced out in 1995. In the same year the Saatchi brothers formed a new agency called M&C...
.
Turk pieces often involves his own image disguised as that of a more famous person. He has cast himself in a series of detailed life sized sculptures as different romantic heroes, including Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
, Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
and the leftist revolutionary Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
.
Turk's work Pop is a waxwork of Turk as Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
in white jacket and black trousers, pointing a gun—a work which toured London, Berlin and New York as part of the 1997 exhibit Sensation (art exhibition)—appropriated the stance of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's painting of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, thereby depicting Turk himself (like Presley) as a cowboy.
Turk has also appropriated recognizable elements from Jacques Louis David, Yves Klein
Yves Klein
Yves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
, Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Rene Magritte
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...
, and Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
.
Ambiguity features as much as self-obsession throughout Turk's work. What appeared to be a discarded plastic rubbish bag was in fact a bronze sculpture of one. This ambiguity is also addressed in works like Nomad (red) (2003) which looks like a sleeping bag, but is bronze, and Box (2002), which looks like cardboard but is also bronze. A large industrial skip (normally yellow, battered and covered in rust) was also painted an immaculate gloss black. Turk turned up at the private view of the Sensation exhibition at the solemn Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London, dressed as a down-and-out.
A set of what appeared to be classic posters of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
in a beret, revealed themselves on further scrutiny to be photos of Turk himself. Turk alleged that the management of London's (now defunct) Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
refused to display his Che Gavara (sic) sculpture, for fear of offending arms-manufacturing Dome sponsor BAe/Marconi (however a correspondent in Art Monthly
Art Monthly
Art Monthly is a magazine of contemporary art founded in 1976 by Jack Wendler and Peter Townsend. It is based in London and has an international scope, although its main focus is on British art...
magazine pointed out that work by the highly political left-wing cartoonist Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman is a British cartoonist and caricaturist who is perhaps best known for his work with American author Hunter S. Thompson.-Personal life:Steadman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, and brought up in Towyn, North Wales...
was being exhibited in the Dome at the same time).
Turk has participated in group exhibitions, including the Istanbul Biennial (1999), ‘Century City’, Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
, London (2001), ‘Remix: Contemporary Art and Pop’, Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporation...
(2002) and ‘Coollustre’, Collection Lambert en Avignon (2003), and 'Pop Life: Art in a Material World' (2009-). Solo exhibitions include South London Gallery (1998), Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva (2000), The New Art Gallery, Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
(2002), New Art Centre Sculpture Park and Gallery, Salisbury (2003), Schloss Eggenberg, Graz (2006), GEM Museum of Contemporary Arts in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
(2007), Le Magasin
Le Magasin
Founded in 1986, Le Magasin - Centre National d'Art Contemporain is housed in an industrial hall, built for the 1900 Paris World's Fair by the workshops of Gustave Eiffel. Manufacturers Bouchayer and Viallet, working in the area of hydroelectric equipment, bought the iron structure and reassembled...
, Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
(2007), Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
(2008). Turk has also been involved in "teach-in" events such as "The Che Gavara (sic) Story" (2001).
In 2007, Turk embarked on a project with his partner Deborah Curtis. The duo have been running a project based troupe of artists, The House of Fairy Tales
The House of Fairy Tales
The House of Fairy Tales is a children's arts charity based in London, England. The charity is committed delivering creative learning experiences for 5-12’s in partnership with institutions, events and local authorities as well as promoting active engagement with issues relating to sustainability...
, which was designed to further community education projects based supported by, and advocating, art. The House of Fairy Tales
The House of Fairy Tales
The House of Fairy Tales is a children's arts charity based in London, England. The charity is committed delivering creative learning experiences for 5-12’s in partnership with institutions, events and local authorities as well as promoting active engagement with issues relating to sustainability...
tour the country in a mobile gallery horse box which made its festival debut at the 2008 Crunch
Institute of Art and Ideas
The Institute of Art and Ideas ' is a not-for-profit organisation, formed to overturn the current intellectually conservative environment where ideas and philosophy are undervalued...
festival in Hay-on-Wye. In 2009, they appeared at the Glastonbury Festival.
External links
- The Official Site for Gavin Turk
- The Official Site for The House of Fairy Tales
- Clippings from an interview by David Barrett
- Gavin Turk at Sculpture.org.uk
- BAe/Marconi and the Millennium Dome
- Video of panel debate with Gavin Turk
- Gavin Turk talks to www.theartnewspaper.tv about Duck Rabbit at Frieze 2009
- Gavin Turk on BBC4, discussing the impact of Charles Saatchi on the modern art world