Veneration of the Black Matriarch in Urban Mythology #1 (2018) 15.5”x 33.5”x 3.0”
Wood, silver, copper, brass, porcelain, plastic straw, bone.

“Reliquary like assemblage constructed from found objects to depict the black woman as demigod. Resplendent, the ancestor, first mother, healer, nurturer, defender, warrior, oracle, the wellspring of our perseverance, bearing the outrage and pain of life and death in an inequitable environment. She is…the chronicler of what matters.”
Richard Turner

Play Now (2009) 40”x 60” acrylic on canvas

5 scraps of canvas sewn together. Each panel depicts snippets of life in South Central Los Angeles as witnessed by me. From left to right they are: Visual Blight, Bling Falls from the Sky, Race Card, A Forty My Ass.

ARTIST STATEMENT
SKIN DEEP: THEN AND NOW (2020)

I painted “Play Now” in 2009, to demonstrate misplaced priorities, economic disparities, urban realities and, as a result, who does and does not get to play the race card. Ten years later, while things have changed, they have in many respects gotten worse. This time my focus falls on the bearing of loss. The sorrow, and unimaginable grief of the mothers who’s unarmed children have been executed by law enforcement. Not the injustice of it, not the act of killing, or the following unrest, but the resiliency, determination, and dignity displayed by these same black mothers after the fact. In my mind this strength of character requires, at the very least, tribute, an homage, so I assembled “Veneration of the Black Matriarch in Urban Mythology #1” in 2019.

EXHIBIT STATEMENT (Diverted Destruction Part 3 – June 2010 through September 2010)
This series is primarily fashioned from discards found or happened upon throughout city.  These cast offs were collected over a period of roughly 3 years, culled from construction site dumpsters, pried up from streets, and uncovered in alleyways.  The only condition I set was the items had to be discards, beyond that there was no special criteria for my choices other than at that moment in time I found them aesthetically pleasing. Believing that anything and everything  can be arranged in such a manner as to be pleasing to the eye, coupled with being able to look at one thing and see something else is what eventually led to what you see.  Flattened crumpled metal containers became royal attire, broken picture frames became architectural structures, electrical wire became hair, anything flat and round became a halo, other objects where simply magnificent in their distressed state.  These assemblages are in a way I suppose, a glimpse into the disposable society we live in. What I found noteworthy on this art trip was being in direct competition with that segment of humanity who’s livelihood depends on the cash redemption value of the very discards I consider fodder for art.  As each of the pieces evolved, the memory of those I had scavenged among increasingly influenced my creative decisions.  The result was ” the 7 Lesser Saints of the Discarded”.  Archetype Ex-votos dedicated to imaginary patron saints who make intercession to a higher power on behalf of all things discarded and the people who seek them out.

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EXHIBIT STATEMENT (SKIN DEEP – October 2010 through January 2011)
Each panel is an honest depiction of observations made in inner-city Los Angeles during the 2008 presidential campaign

VISUAL BLIGHT
A three story building stands broken and abandoned surrounded by hurricane fencing festooned with reminders of a less than fruitful life, while the efforts of the concerned lay crumpled and ignored among the weeds.

THE “40”
Indulge in the golden elixir and watch your communication skills falter and your pants retreat to lower ground beneath your behind.

FOOLS GOLD
Bling falls from the sky.  The medallion is the mathematical expression for the “Null Set”- defined as the empty set – having no elements or value – it’s worth is zero.  Will the bling wind up around the neck of this child relegating him to a null set existence.

PLAY NOW
This is how easy it is to play the race card.

BIO
Richard Turner’s credentials reflect a treasure trove of artistic, community, and technical expression starting in perhaps the most culturally and politically dynamic era in U.S. History -1960’s. A Los Angeles native, Richard lived his formative years in the 9th council district.  As a child his passion for creative expression, and sensibilities towards the arts began at the Natural History and Science Museums in Exposition Park. As an art major he co-founded the Black Fine Arts Forum, a campus organization that encouraged the participation of minorities in art department activities. This Forum played a pivotal role in the hiring of the first black female as an art instructor at LACC.  Seeking a more focused curriculum Richard transferred to Otis Art Institute in downtown Los Angeles.  It was during this time he landed a job at one of the premier international advertising agencies, Foote, Cone, and Belding.  Always one to seek out more forms of creative expression, in the mid 1970’s Richard set his sights on the motion picture industry as a career. This pursuit eventually led him to realize a solid position as a cameraman for the major motion picture studios for over thirty years. In the past several years, Richard Turner has resumed his passion for artistic pursuits full time, commercially, through non-profit ventures, art exhibitions, and commissioned works for private collectors.  Whether it be painting, assemblage, or sculpture Turner attempts to portray life’s side effects; the little noticed and unsung doings of life.

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EXHIBIT STATEMENT (RED – November 2011 through January 2012)