27/1/2001
Alison Turnbull
Moma, Oxford
The work of Alison Turnbull (b.1956) is now widely recognised and this exhibition, first shown in Milton Keynes and then at Cube in Manchester, has greatly strengthened her reputation. Houses into Flats is a series of twenty-eight paintings made over the last three years. The painted images originate in found architectural drawings: plans, sections and elevations which are then floated freely onto subtly coloured monochrome fields.
Houses into Flats.
The work of Alison Turnbull (b.1956) is now widely recognised and this exhibition, first shown in Milton Keynes and then at Cube in Manchester, has greatly strengthened her reputation. Houses into Flats is a series of twenty-eight paintings made over the last three years. The painted images originate in found architectural drawings: plans, sections and elevations which are then floated freely onto subtly coloured monochrome fields.
The drawings, taken from a wide range of sources - including books, maps and the Internet - are of public and domestic buildings, such as churches, apartments and factories, from different parts of the world, most of which the artist has never seen. Through her technique of layering and repeatedly abrading the surfaces of her work, the original image undergoes a process of conversion - from blueprint into painting.
This transformation is important both on a literal and metaphoric level. Although each work has its own distinct character and exists independently, when presented together there emerges a series of sites in an imaginary town.
Houses into Flats is a Milton Keynes Gallery Touring Exhibition.
A catalogue produced to accompany the exhibition with essays by Briony Fer and Deyan Sudjic, is available at the special exhibition price of £8.50.
Opening hours - Tuesday-Sunday - 11am-6pm - Thursday 11am-9pm - Closed Monday - Please telephone for public holiday opening times.
MOMA - Museum of Modern Art - 30 Pembroke Street - Oxford, OX1 1BP - Tel. 01865722733 - Fax. 01865722573