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Olivia Turner’s concern with spatial awareness is evident within her work, which continually plays with conventional ideas about spaces. Her paintings are densely multi-faceted representations of Brutalist buildings with composition, form and structure playing an integral part in her paintings. Developed from her photographs and drawings, the compositions are built up from multiple viewpoints. She continuously layers drawings on tracing paper, allowing her to explore countless configurations, carefully refining these before they are developed into paintings.

By isolating her compositions from their original surroundings, she wants to give the viewer no option but to interact with them. Turner wants the viewer to see the true beauty of these buildings, starting a conversation around the loss of them in society. Her main intention is to alter a place by creating a new space within it, causing the viewer to question their perception of their own experience of the space.

In 2015 she co-founded DOK Artist Space, a grass-roots contemporary exhibition and studio space in Edinburgh, where she ran an acclaimed Exhibition programme until 2018. During this period Turner worked closely with a wide range of emerging and established artists. In 2018 she was invited to co-produce the Architecture Fringe Festival across Scotland. In 2020 she became the President of the Society of Scottish Artists. 

BA (Hons) Painting, University of Edinburgh, 2015

Academy, Edinburgh, 2020. Intermediate Interactions, The Foundry Gallery, London, 2020. SSA | VAS OPEN, Royal Scottish Academy. Edinburgh, 2019. Love Triangle: For The Love of Geometry, Deep Space Gallery, New Jersey, 2019. SSA 121st Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2018. Forms Assembled in the Light: The KPP Prize, Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, 2018.

VACMA Award, Edinburgh, 2022. Open Contemporary Young Artist Award, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, 2018. RSA Latimer Award, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2016. RSA Sir William Gillies Bequest Award, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 2016.

Olivia Turner (olivia-turner.com)
Olivia Turner (@livvyturner_) | Instagram