Turk Talk: Gavin Turk Talks to Louisa Buck and Charlotte Higgins

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• Gavin Turk, Louisa Buck, Charlotte Higgins
• Thursday 26 January 2023, 18:00-19:00
• The Howard Theatre, Downing College.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Prerona Prasad.

Join us for a free-wheeling conversation between Gavin Turk, Louisa Buck, and Charlotte Higgins on the reclining female nude, the Ariadne myth, and the endurance of meme and memory in contemporary art. The Heong Gallery will remain open until 6PM to enable visitors to the talk to see Gavin Turk: In Search of Ariadne before proceeding to the Howard Theatre.

Free. Booking essential.

About Gavin Turk

Gavin Turk (b 1967) is a British born, international artist. He has pioneered many forms of contemporary British sculpture, including the painted bronze, the waxwork, the recycled art-historical icon and the use of waste in art. Turk’s Oeuvre deals with conversations of authorship and identity. Concerned with the ‘myth’ of the artist and the authenticity of a work.

Prestel published a monograph on Gavin Turk in 2013, showcasing more than two decades of his work and in 2014 Trolley Books published This Is Not A Book About Gavin Turk, which playfully explores themes associated with the artist’s work via thirty notable contributors.

Gavin Turk has been commissioned to create several large public sculptures including: Nail (2011), a 12-meter eponymous sculpture at One New Change, next to St Paul’s cathedral, London, England. Axis Mundi (2017), an oversized painted bronze sculpture of a plug located in Paddington Basin, London. As well as L’Âge d’Or (2019), a large bronze open door permanently sited outside the Museum of Migration in Rotterdam.

About Louisa Buck

Louisa Buck is a writer and broadcaster on contemporary art. She is a Contributing Editor and Contemporary Art Correspondent for The Art Newspaper and a regular reviewer and commentator on BBC radio and TV.

Her articles have appeared in publications ranging from The Guardian and Vogue to Frieze and Artforum.

She is the author of a number of catalogue essays for institutions including Tate, The Whitechapel Gallery, ICA London, MCA Australia, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Her books include Moving Targets 2: A User’s Guide to British Art Now (Tate 2000); Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market (Arts Council England 2004) and Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector’s Handbook (co-authored with Judith Greer) (Cultureshock Media 2006). Commissioning Contemporary Art : A Handbook for Curators, Collectors and Artists was published by Thames & Hudson in October 2012 and in 2016 she authored The Going Public Report commissioned by Museums Sheffield.

Louisa was a judge for the 2005 Turner Prize and is a founding member of The Gallery Climate Coalition.

About Charlotte Higgins

As an author, most of Charlotte Higgins’s books touch on the classical world: Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain, was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson (now Baillie Gifford) prize, among other awards, and has been adapted into a play by David Greig. Red Thread: On Mazes and Labyrinths, which took the Ariadne myth as its starting point, won the Arnold Bennett prize and was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Her latest, Greek Myths, with illustrations by Chris Ofili, was shortlisted for the Waterstones book of the year 2021.

A further book, This New Noise, was adapted from a series of Guardian essays about the BBC .

Charlotte is the chief culture writer of The Guardian. She writes a regular column for the Opinion pages; articles for the Long Read section; and contributes regular arts features, book reviews and magazine articles. In 2022 she reported for the paper from Ukraine.

Born in the Potteries, Charlotte is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a former winner of the Classical Association Prize, and a trustee of the British School at Rome.

Access Information

The Howard Theatre is equipped with a step-free access, automatic doors, and a lift to the main theatre area. The seats in the theatre are cushioned. There are accessible toilet facilities. Please contact gallery@dow.cam.ac.uk to discuss any further access needs.

This talk is part of the The Heong Gallery series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• The Howard Theatre, Downing College
• The Heong Gallery

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