Iain contributes to book on Gavin Turk

Gavin Turk

Essays by Judith Collins and Iain Sinclair
Hardback with jacket • 24.5 x 29 cm

ISBN: 978-3-7913-4834-6

400 pages with 450 colour illustrations

Publication by Prestel: May 2013, £45.00

Assembled under the artist’s direction, this long awaited monograph on the work of

Gavin Turk showcases more than two decades of significant and influential artworks.

Gavin Turk rose to prominence in the early 1990s during the ‘Young British Artists’ phenomenon: an ambitious generation of artists with a flair for self-promotion. Turk’s thoughtful, visually striking work gained him a reputation as an artist who questioned the nature and values of authorship, authenticity and identity.

Turk was born in 1967 in Guildford, England and went to the Royal College of Art in London. In 1991 Turk was denied his MA for his degree show presentation, which consisted of an empty white studio with a blue English Heritage plaque installed, which simply bore the inscription “Borough of Kensington / Gavin Turk / Sculptor / Worked Here 1989-1991.”  The piece brought Turk critical acclaim and academic notoriety in equal measure. It was bought by Charles Saatchi and presented in the Royal Academy’s influential exhibition ‘Sensation’ (1997).

Beginning his career paradoxically with his own demise and posthumous recognition Turk set the tone for his subsequent work, which dealt with the cult of personality and the construction

of artistic myth.  One of Turk’s best-known sculptures, Pop (1993), is a life-size waxwork self-portrait in which he adopts the identity of Sid Vicious singing ‘My Way’ in the pose of Elvis Presley as depicted by Andy Warhol. In later works such as Pile (2004), a painted bronze sculpture of a pile of bin bags, Turk explores the way in which a work of art is conferred with iconic status and value.

Featuring numerous colour illustrations, this impressive volume includes Turk’s major works since the early 1990s, an original essay by Iain Sinclair contextualizing the artist’s work under the umbrella of psycho-geography, including the impact of London on Turk’s personae, and an introductory essay by Judith Collins.

Turk’s work has been included in many seminal exhibitions including POPLIFE show at Tate Modern (2009) 49th Venice Biennale (2001), 6th International Istanbul Biennial (1999) and Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London (1997). Recent exhibitions have included The Perfect Place to Grow – 175 Years of The Royal College of Art, Royal College of Art, London, En Face, CAC Malaga, Spain, Burnt Out, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland, GEM Museum for Contemporary Art, The Hague, The Netherlands.  His work is in many major international museums and collections.

Judiith Collins is an international authority on sculpture and the author of numerous books along with several exhibition catalogues. She is currently working on monographs on Alison Wilding and Eduardo Paolozzi.  Iain Sinclair is a British writer and filmmaker. His novel Downriver won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

There will be a special boxed edition of 50 with screen print, signed and numbered by the artist.