William Turnbull (artist)
William Turnbull ( born January 11, 1922 in Dundee, Scotland, † on 15 November 2012 ) was a British sculptor and painter. He was considered an important representative of modern abstract sculpture.
Life and work
Turnbull worked from 1939 to 1941 as an illustrator for a publishing company in Scotland. Thereafter, he served in World War II as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. From 1946 to 1948 Turnbull studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. From 1948 to 1950 he lived in Paris. He arrived there in contact with Eduardo Paolozzi, Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti.
In 1952 he was one of the young British sculptor at the 26th Venice Biennale. From 1953 to 1961 he was a guest lecturer at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and from 1964 to 1972 a professor of sculpture.
Turnbull's sculptures are made of wood, stone or bronze and always refer in its materiality of nature. His sculptures are influenced by Surrealism and the American Color Field painting. They are characterized by a radical form of simplification.
Important exhibitions
(Selection)
Literature and sources
- Exhibition catalog for Documenta IV: IV documentation. International Exhibition; Catalogue: Volume 1: ( painting and sculpture ); Volume 2: (graphics / objects ); Kassel 1968
- Exhibition Catalogue: William Turnbull: Sculpture, Galerie Thomas, Munich
- Kimpel, Harald / stem, Karin: documenta IV International Exhibition 1968 - A photographic reconstruction ( Series of the documenta - Archives); Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-86108-524-9