This September Gallery Zozimus will host Introsepctive/Retrospective by Jim Turner from 13th September until 29th September. Introspective/Retrospective captures the extraordinary breadth of Jim Turner’s creativity, skill and experimentation as a ceramic artist, and archives his substantial contribution to contemporary ceramics in Ireland.
Known as a warm and generous craftsman, his modest disposition cloaks vast knowledge and a long list of accomplishments both at home and abroad. He has known clay all his life. It is part of his DNA. Jim’s father ran Abbotsbury Pottery in Dorset and he played with clay since early childhood. He studied Ceramic Sculpture and Design in Camberwell College (he was tutored by Hans Cooper and Lucie Rie).
Jim has always thrived on experimentation, combining an array of firing and glazing techniques, where surface is his prime avenue of investigation. “My work is informed by the landscapes and other experiences where I find myself,” says Jim, “but, I am as influenced by the Peninsula formation of Sheep’s Head in West Cork, as by the anonymous Minoan potters of Crete, through to the Futurists, Constructionists and the engineering feats of Frei Otto.”
Jim’s dry glaze pods and tall trophy forms incorporate multiple layers of glazes and slips, which result in outstanding textured surfaces in blues, pinks, and purple hues.
He will also be showing collaborative work, for many years he has partnered with his wife Etain Hickey at Rossmore Country Pottery to create highly coloured functional and decorative pots. Throughout his career, Jim has pushed the boundaries of scale by creating larger-than-life sculptures and obelisks. One such object features in this exhibition. The 2m high obelisk is part of a collaborative project with printmaker Brian Lalor. This collection also includes fascinating sculptures, tablets and scrolls by Jim, all influenced by the ancient middle east.
There are brand new works to see here: a collection of intricate bowls incorporating paperclay sides, stoneware glazes and dry slips.
Jim Turner lives and works in West Cork and he recently celebrated his 70th birthday. His ceramic works have always reflected a love for constructed form, particularly the fractual architecture of Frank Gehry is evident throughout his work. Jim’s jovial disposition disguises a passionate artist, a trailblazer and risk-taker; a maker in the truest sense. Jim is a potter’s potter, his steadfast commitment to his art, his tireless development of new ideas and mastery of material, makes this retrospective exhibition of work a truly outstanding achievement and one not to be missed.
This exhibition at Gallery Zozimus is a unique chance to see and acquire show-stopping sculptural pots and collaborative works.
Gallery Zozimus, 56 Francis Street, Dublin 8.
Tel. 01-4539057
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