Chimera,
2015
Photoprint onto dichroic glass
13 4/5 × 13 4/5 × 1 1/5 in
Gavin Turk, one of Britain's infamous Young British Artists, is drawn to ideas about originality, self-obsession, and the nature of authentic expression. In paintings, photographs, sculpture, and video installations, Turk explores how particular pieces of art achieve masterpiece status and how artists themselves become celebrities. Mining diverse sources, from art history to popular culture, Turk examines the value structure inherent in the creative process. Joseph Beuys, Jackson Pollock, Elvis Presley, and Andy Warhol are among the celebrity artists who have captured Turk’s imagination. In a 2009 installation, Turk, sardonically questioning the value of an individual artist’s signature style, presented a series of abstract paintings that looked just like Pollock’s work. On close inspection, one discovers that the paintings are constructed not from dripped paint, but rather from layers of Turk’s painted signature.
British, b. 1967, Guildford, United Kingdom, based in London, United Kingdom
Courtesy of artsy.net