Artsy Forager Featured Artist Mixed Media

April Featured Artist: Hooper Turner

Happy April, Artsies!  I’m excited to welcome in the month of April for many reasons, A | we finally leave the desert this month!, B | I get to celebrate one of my favorite days of the year, the day Mr. Forager was born ( never mind that my own b-day is in there, too, ugh ) and C | the celebration of a fabulous new Featured Artist!  You may remember New York artist Hooper Turner from my post featuring work from his Catalog and Fashion series n which he meticulously depicts the imagery found in luxury catalogs and fashion magazines.

#129 by Hooper Turner

#129, oil on catalog page, 12 3/4×9 7/8

#85 by Hooper Turner

#85, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×14 3/4

In his latest body of work, Typeforms, Turner continues his fascination with fashion and found imagery, this time extending his reach into the commodified art world.  In choosing to paint letters and numbers directly onto found art auction catalog pages, the artist is perhaps speaking to the struggle of contemporary artists to find their own voice in among the masses.

#130 by Hooper Turner

#130, oil on catalog page, 12×19 1/4

#166 by Hooper Turner

#166, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×8 1/4

Although I’ve chosen to focus on his auction catalog pages, Turner also gives found imagery of celebrities and models the same treatment.  Perhaps in doing so, he is reflecting upon the artist as celebrity and what that elevated status means for the art marketplace.

#99 by Hooper Turner

#99, oil on catalog page, 11 3/4×8 3/8

Bold and striking, whatever their message, these pieces are saying it loudly and proudly.  To see more of Hooper Turner’s work, please visit his website and be sure to stop by the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see his cover image and an album of a few of my favorite Turner pieces ( in addition to these, of course! ).

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