return to worldwidereview.com, the home of critical reviews

Re: Gavin Turk at Riflemaker

From:     NNed Thisom
Category: Art
Date:     21 July 2007
Time:     02:31 PM

Review:

Ah yes, the photorealist sculpture. An idea pioneered by John De Andrea and Duane Hanson in the late sixties, around the same 
time as photoreal painting emerged. This idea has subsequently been used by many pre-YBA's, Charles Ray and Jeff Koons 
among them. Then many YBA's after them, Hirst and the Chapmans among them. I remember seeing people kicking the 
Chapman Brothers sculpture, Death, in the Turner prize a few years ago (it was a bronze of two inflatable figures having sex on a 
lilo painted to look like inflatables) to make sure it was made of bronze. A cheap trick and a disappointing piece of work by them. 
My point being this idea, like everthing else Turk, and most of them really, has ever done is a re-hash of something once 
innovative. Strangely this 'photoreal sculpture' stills seems to hold some weight in an art world where photoreal painting was out 
of vogue very quickly after it emerged. Also I think somebody else did bin bags before him. Not sure who?


return to worldwidereview.com, the home of critical reviews