Born in Surrey in 1967, Turk went on to study at the Chelsea School of Art. In 1991, he was refused a degree by the Royal College of Art after he presented his postgraduate exhibition, Cave — an empty, whitewashed studio that only featured a blue heritage plaque noting, ‘Gavin Turk, Sculptor, worked here, 1989–1991’.
Turk’s career continued to question the systems that put value and status upon art and artists. He was among the Young British Artists — a group of conceptual artists, including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas, who dominated the 1990s British art scene with innovative works that used unconventional materials. Turk’s investigation into authenticity within the art object is shown in works such as Tip (2004), where he used bronze — the material of Classical Greek sculpture — to cast a rubbish bin bag.
His work is often referential, and he has placed his own likeness at the heart of famous images such as Andy Warhol’s silk screens. Reflecting on his pieces, Turk noted, ‘In the process of undermining itself, an artwork opens for interpretation and reveals itself. I want art to be fun. I enjoy playing with the history and authority of art, its authenticity.’
Turk's artwork is held in major public and private collections worldwide, including the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has been commissioned to create several large public sculptures, such as Nail (2011) next to St Paul’s cathedral in London and L’Âge d’Or (2021), a large bronze open door permanently sited outside the Fenix Museum in Rotterdam.
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Cave
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Oscar
Gavin Turk (B. 1967)
Nomad
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Nomad
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Transit V Cobra Disaster Green
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Marat Single (Green)
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Dump
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Brillo 5
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Large Red Fright Wig
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Transit Disaster Red
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Bollywood
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Inheritance (Pillow Case)
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Che Guevara
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Relic (Cave)
Gavin Turk (né en 1967)
Small door
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Relic (Wrapped Waste)
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Hasta La Vitoria, from Faces
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Self-Portrait with Skull
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Conscious
GAVIN TURK (b. 1967)
The Mechanical Turk
GAVIN TURK (b. 1967)
Untitled
VARIOUS ARTISTS
OTHER MEN'S FLOWERS
Gavin Turk (B. 1967)
Pillow
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Me as Him in Pink and Black
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Portrait of Something that I'll Never Really See
Gavin Turk (Guildford b. 1967)
No title (Plaque)
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Diamond Transit Disaster Red
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Untitled (Egg)
Gavin Turk (Guildford b. 1967)
Untitled
Gavin Turk (b. 1967)
Tyre track
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Pimp RECYCLED
GAVIN TURK (B. 1967)
Camouflage Fright Wig Orange and Grey