Graduate Center Presents ITINERARIES, Works 1979–2009 by Alan Turner

From September 23 through October 31, the Graduate Center will present ITINERARIES, a survey of work from 1979–2009 by Alan Turner, in its Exhibition Hallway. The show, viewable during building hours, features Turner’s evocative drawings and paintings exploring abandoned locations -- ruins of antiquity, inventive shelters of the homeless, playgrounds of children -- with side trips in the natural world. The Graduate Center is located at 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th & 35th Streets) in Manhattan; for further information on ITINERARIES, please call 212-431-5149.  

Turner paints quirky images that mark an uncomfortable relationship between the body, containers and consciousness. During the last few years, he has made paintings (Box Houses) based on models he has built from corrugated cardboard. These metaphorically rich works grow out of observations of the structures the homeless build for shelter. Recently, Turner’s trips to Rome have further shaped his artistic vision. An acute draftsman, he has become increasingly austere in his painting technique. A “just enough” approach dispenses with paint completely and the newest “paintings” are simply graphite on canvas. Control of line, and the changing nature of mark making, creates a deep conversation between ideas of home and intimacy. The exhibition is accompanied by a free, illustrated brochure with an essay by Jose Ruiz. (Pictured: Box House #50 by Alan Turner.)

Alan Turner has been exhibiting his paintings, drawings and prints in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Europe since 1971. He was born in the Bronx in 1943 and attended the City College of the City University of New York, receiving a B.A. in 1965. He continued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving an M.A. in 1967. During his career, his works have entered many prominent public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among many others. He is the recipient of many honors and awards including three NEA Grants, a Pollack-Krasner Fellowship Foundation Grant and a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. A complete archive and resume are available at www.alanturnerstudio.com.

The Graduate Center is devoted primarily to doctoral studies and awards most of the City University of New York’s Ph.D.s. An internationally recognized center for advanced studies and a national model for public doctoral education, the school offers more than thirty doctoral programs as well as a number of master’s programs. Many of its faculty members are among the world’s leading scholars in their respective fields, and its alumni hold major positions in industry and government, as well as in academia. The Graduate Center is also home to more than thirty interdisciplinary research centers and institutes focused on areas of compelling social, civic, cultural, and scientific concerns.  Located in a landmark Fifth Avenue building, the Graduate Center has become a vital part of New York City’s intellectual and cultural life with its extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical events.  Further information on the Graduate Center and its programs can be found at www.gc.cuny.edu.