AT YOUR DISPOSAL, 2023 BY GAVIN TURK
FRIEZE ART FAIR 2024, GALERIE KRINZINGER
9TH - 13TH OCTOBER
BOOTH A13
British artist Gavin Turk has long been fascinated by the themes of fire and evolution, and their connection to everyday objects like disposable lighters. Turk's use of found objects in art, including discarded lighters found on the streets, highlights his interest in the concept of value and the ways in which we assign it to certain objects.
Historically the ability of humans to move fire around enabled nomadic existence, the use of King Alfred's cakes and tinder fungus for making fire transportable provide a historical context for mobile fire. The use of disposable lighters, made from plastic produced with the use of fire, raises questions about our relationship with the environment and the sustainability of our actions.
The colour display of the disposable lighters connects to the spectral work of Paul Smith as well as Joseph Albers, who explored the relationships between colours and their impact on perception. The bright hues of the broken lighters provide a visual contrast, highlighting the dichotomy between their cheap, disposable nature and their visually compelling appearance.
Through his art, Turk prompts us to consider the relationship between humans, technology, and the natural world. By exploring the history and cultural significance of objects like throwaway lighters, he challenges us to reconsider our values and actions, and to think more deeply about the impact of our choices on the world around us and to consider the possibilities for new forms of value and meaning in our modern world.
GAVIN TURK BIO:
Gavin Turk (b 1967) is a British born, internationally renowned artist, who lives and works in London. He has pioneered many forms of contemporary British sculpture, including the painted bronze, the waxwork, the recycled art-historical icon and the use of rubbish in art.
Turk’s installations and sculptures deal with issues of authorship, authenticity and identity. Concerned with the ‘myth’ of the artist and ontological questioning. Turk’s engagement with this modernist, avant-garde debate stretches back to the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp.
In 1991, the Royal College of Art refused Turk a degree on the basis that his final show, ‘Cave’, consisted of a whitewashed studio space containing only a blue heritage plaque commemorating his presence ‘Gavin Turk worked here 1989-91'. Instantly gaining notoriety through this installation, Turk was spotted by Charles Saatchi and was included in several YBA exhibitions.
Gavin Turk’s work is held within public and private collections worldwide, including but not limited to the TATE, Museum of Modern Art New York, Museum MMK Für Moderne Kunst, Musée Magritte Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In 2013 Prestel published Turk’s first monograph, showcasing more than two decades of his work and in 2014 Trolley Books published ‘This Is Not A Book About Gavin Turk’ which playfully explores themes associated with the artist’s work via thirty notable contributors.
Contact: info@gavinturk.com