simon turner


Simon Turner is an artist who lives and works in Penzance. His paintings are crafted on found pieces of panel, which when assembled form a narrative of his interests and experiences. This collective process is an integral part of the imagery.

The independent nature of the panels, which in effect are individual paintings arranged to form a new work, expresses the importance of the individual as a potent force of invention, exploration and change.

Childhood and its relationship with adulthood is a central theme in much of the artist’s work. An upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness and his latent questioning of religious truths continues to inform his work.  The artist is similarly interested in religion’s relationship with atheism and the role of philosophy in both spiritual doctrine and the birth of science.

Some images use illustrations from children’s educational books as their template, remembered from the artist’s childhood or found from further in the past. Often they explore innovation and its place in society, how children’s everyday classroom lessons were once philosophical or scientific revelations.

The artist’s car paintings are concerned with thoughts on the games children play that emulate adulthood and how these differ from adulthood itself. This draws on the theory that adults who collect toys, figurines and the memorabilia of youth, are attempting to improve or reorder their childhood.

click to enlarge images

The King and his Royal Moustache Waxers
acrylic on wood assemblage
24 x 28cm £490

Simon Turner, Anatomy
mixed media wood assemblage
15 x 20cm £490

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1 Parade Street, Queens Square, (top of Chapel Street), Penzance, Cornwall TR18 4BU
Telephone: 01736 874749
Opening times: Monday - Saturday 10 - 5
Gallery Director: Sarah Brittain sarah@cornwallcontemporary.com