Artist Vadis Turner discusses her work and journey toward simplicity in her creative process.
There is a lot of simplicity in giving yourself permission to keep the ends loose, to not have it all worked out—after all, there is a lot of beauty and energy there. By leaving some things unknown, unchecked, or unfinished, we leave ourselves open to more possibilities, to truly any and everything. Following Vadis’s artistic journey, we see how leaving space for exploration can lead to unexpected paths, mediums, and meaning. By experimenting with materials found in the home, Vadis expanded her artistic practice to think about rights of passage and femininity. Following her work and a career of exploration and always saying yes, to later simplifying and showing more of her foundation (both literally and metaphorically), we can draw parallels about the importance of saying more with less. The most important work in life is editing, to use our time and resources to their fullest. Let’s keep it simple.
About the speaker
Vadis Turner’s first solo museum exhibition was at the Frist Art Museum in 2017 followed by the
Huntsville Museum of Art in 2022 and the Abroms-Engel Institute for Visual Arts at the
University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2023. She was awarded the Joan Mitchell Painters and
Sculptors Grant in 2016.
Turner’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, 21C Museum,
Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts, Tennessee State Museum, Huntsville Museum of Art and
the Hunter Museum of American Art. She has exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, Andy Warhol
Museum, The Bunker Artspace, ICA Portland, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Islip Art
Museum, Knoxville Museum, Susquehanna Museum of Art and Cheekwood Museum.
Residencies include Yaddo, Museum of Arts & Design, Materials for the Arts, Hambidge Center
and a Fellowship at Vermont Studio Center. Selected press includes Artforum, Art Papers, New
York Times, Hyperallergic, Widewalls, Two Coats of Paint, Burnaway, Wallpaper*,
Vanityfair.com, Observer, Artnet, and White Hot Magazine.
Her projects have been funded by the Barbara Demming Memorial Fund, South Arts,
Tennessee Arts Commission and The Current Art Fund, a regranting program through the Andy
Warhol Foundation. Turner received a BFA and MFA from Boston University. She teaches at
Vanderbilt University and is represented by Geary in Millerton, NY.
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