Khari Turner
Bio: For Khari Turner, growing up in Milwaukee created a relationship to Black people, water, and his environment that plays a major role in his work now. His practice involves sourcing materials directly from different bodies of water including the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, his hometown’s Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. His aims are to eventually start work directly related to water health, environmental conservation, and bringing art to low-income neighborhoods. Turner had his first solo exhibition in New York at Ross-Sutton Gallery in July.
www.khariturner.com
Instagram: @khari.raheem
Thesis Exhibition
I’ve been trying to convince my shadow that I’m someone worth following.
— Rudy Francisco, My Honest Poem
Artist Statement: I paint to create a deeper connection to my identity and history as a Black American. Metaphorically, I see Black people as personifications of the magic that is the ocean. My paintings and drawings combine abstraction with realistic renderings of Black noses and lips to rejuvenate the relationship of my history to my ancestor’s history with water. Lately my work has evolved and involves the material as abstractions. Seeing the abstract paintings as a passage into the figure but also into ideas and feelings the figure can’t always demonstrate. I use water from oceans, lakes, and rivers from places that have either a historical or personal connection to black history—water that I collect to mix with and pour onto my paintings. My focus is to create a direct relationship to my emotions and understanding of my past, a journey of spiritual connection. I paint to bring the stories and histories of the array of Black life with images holding an elegance and chaos that comes with this existence.
L to R: Holding Fast to Dreams, (72" x 72,” Acrylic, oil, ink, charcoal, sand, African Mahogany, water from: Coast of Senegal, lower Manhattan docks, Lake Michigan, Milwaukee River, Pacific Ocean, 2021); A Passion for Finding Myself, (84" x 120," Acrylic, oil, ink, charcoal, water from: Coast of Senegal, lower Manhattan docks, Lake Michigan, Milwaukee River, Pacific Ocean, 2021); Forming Wings, 72" x 60," Acrylic, oil, ink, charcoal, sand, African mahogany, water from: Coast of Senegal, lower Manhattan docks, Lake Michigan, Milwaukee River, Pacific Ocean, 2021)
First Year Exhibition
Black Alternative 2, (60 x 48 in, Acrylic, oil, charcoal, sand, Pacific Ocean water, water from lower Manhattan docks, Lake Michigan water, Milwaukee River water, 2021)
