Gavin Turk British, b. 1967

Gavin Turk, born in Guildford, Surrey, in 1967, is known for a conceptual practice that probes ideas of authenticity, authorship and the mythology of the artist. His work frequently parodies the art world’s value systems, offering a postmodern critique of the artist’s constructed persona. Turk first came to attention with Cave (1991), exhibited as part of his Royal College of Art postgraduate show, which featured a blue heritage plaque marking his own presence in an otherwise empty, whitewashed room. A figure associated with the Young British Artists, Turk has since developed a body of work that questions the cultural and market value assigned to art and its makers. Working across sculpture, painting, photography and print, he has pioneered forms now common in British contemporary art – painted bronze, waxwork, art-historical appropriation, and the use of discarded materials – while maintaining a critical stance towards the systems that elevate them.

Turk studied at the Chelsea School of Art from 1986 to 1989, and then the Royal College of Art from 1989 to 1991, both in London. His work is included in numerous international collections including the Tate Modern, London; Saatchi Gallery, London; British Council, London; Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London; Caldic Collection, Rotterdam; and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.

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