GIFTS OF PARADOX: ELIZABETH TURK
ELIZABETH TURK
The gift of nature and the gift of art come together in Elizabeth Turk sculptures.
Known for her marble works, the artist transforms massive blocks of Sivec and Carrara marble as well as repurposed pre-existing marble structures into wonderous organic shapes.
Turk often integrates objects cast in bronze and iron, as well as fragile glass and porcelain, adding physical and conceptual contrast to her heavy stone pieces.
While marble has been a prized medium for sculptors for thousands of years, Turk’s voice is fresh and wholly contemporary, referencing both human and geological time and space.
Her works play with gravity and paradox, with weight and lightness, solids and voids, strength and fragility, earthmade and handmade. They manifest in undulating ribbons, DNA helixes, bits of flora, and even lace.
Turk sometimes also exposes her sculptures to natural elements, such as ocean waves, inviting further transformation.
A recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2010), a Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Fellowship (2010), and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2011), Turk is internationally recognized.
Elizabeth Turk’s sculptures can be found in numerous prestigious private and public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art (formerly, the Corcoran Gallery of Art).
Elizabeth Turk sculptures are available for sale at 1stdibs and Hirschl & Adler Gallery.
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