Confession: I love fashion magazines. The beautiful imagery of gorgeous people wearing couture, sporting watches and handbags that cost as much as a car, is like crack to me. Maybe in the intellectual artsy realm I am not supposed to taken with such trivial and superficial fluff, but I just can’t help it. Nor can NYC artist Hooper Turner.
High Noon, oil on canvas, 18x24 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Turner, whose latest exhibition, Glamorama, opens at Skidmore Contemporary in Santa Montica, CA this Saturday, chooses to focus his fascination and truly study these portraits of consumerism, painting them and in turn, seeing them with new eyes.
The Crusaders, oil on canvas, 30x40
Turner doesn’t take the imagery out of context, like many might, instead the images are unabashedly commercial, some complete with the text juxtaposed over the image, just as it would be in a magazine. It is in this honest confrontation of our voluntary manipulation by advertisers, creative directors, etc., that his work finds its most poignant power.
Solstice 2005, oil on canvas, 30x36 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Spiced Egg Nog Cardigan, oil on canvas, 20x24 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Be sure to check out Hooper Turner’s website to see more images of his work. If you’re in Southern California, make plans to see his show in up close & personal at Skidmore Contemporary Art.
Featured image is Calvin Klein Underwear, oil on canvas, 51×36. All images are via Skidmore Contemporary’s website.
Artsy on Escape Into Life: Dennis Ziemienski « Artsy Forager
May 31, 2012 at 2:38 PM[…] of my go-to galleries for fantastic contemporary realism. So far, I’ve featured three of their artists and more to come. Today’s Artist Watch feature on Escape Into Life is the latest […]