Gregor Turk - Magic of Mapping

Rugae

Ruched Rubber on Wood

48"H x 48"W x 3"D

Artist Gregor Turk is a self proclaimed topophiliac. His fascination with geography and mapping and the connection it has to our inner being is what pioneers his unusual, yet highly sophisticated, work. With a wide range of mediums such as wood, rubber, and ceramic, and photography, Turk creates larger than life installations that leaves the viewer wondering what drives this beautifully different style. 

Beginning as a ceramicist, Gregor Turk love for mapping began very early in his art career. Being an avid hiker and biker, Turk found himself inspired by the geography he found himself amongst and the way in which the webbing and weaving of mapping has a direct relation to ourselves. Turk likes to push himself physically, which produces deeply processed bodies of work. Most significantly, his travels along the 1,270 mile US Canadian border brought about inspiration to document his excursions and use mapped markings as a foundation for his art. Likewise, he uses tools such as photography and charcoal rubbings from his various travels as ways to document the geography and history surrounding him.   As seen in his artists statement, Turk enjoys having the ability to interpret, as well as distort reality in his work. 

Turk has a permanent installation in International Concourse at the Atlanta Airport as well at the Jacksonville airport. He works with numerous public and private collectors and is represented in multiple galleries across the US. Most impressively, Turk served as a Peace Corp volunteer in Liberia. Clearly, his affinity for land and people has served him quite well, both in and out of his career as an artist. 

"I am a topophiliac.  My affection for place and all things geographic is manifested through various sculpture series, public art installations, photography, and works on paper.  The appeal is not the actual geographic information as much as what that information tells us about ourselves as individuals and as a culture. Through my art, I tend to focus on the fundamental qualities of mapping— the mysteriousness, inherent biases, cultural authoritativeness, and ability to simultaneously represent and distort reality." 

- Gregor Turk