- 2 days ago

Charles Turnell

Charles Turnell is a photographer and digital artist who exhibits regularly in the Saint Louis, Missouri area and is represented by Bruno David Gallery in Saint Louis. He has served a recent artist residency at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum and participated in exhibits at Studio Channel Islands at Camarillo, California as well as Art Saint Louis. Charles has been published by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Gazelle magazine based in Saint Louis.

Although the artworks may appear to be pointillist paintings, they are in fact digital mosaics of tiny photographs of flowers in the background followed by photos of various subject matter such as statues and mannequins in the foreground. These digital mosaics communicate a sense of intricacy and joyful color palette reminiscent of impressionist painting.

Usually portraying mannequins and statues, Charles’ digital mosaics create elaborate urban and park-like scenery interacting with these lifeless objects. Often wearing stylish attire, the mannequins stand confident while the statues often are displayed bare or nude. Painstakingly constructed, these compositions portray intricate realistic representations similar to an expressive naturalistic painting. Upon closer inspection of the works, the viewer will find tiny and intricate photographs of flowers geometrically composed in formats of structured lines in order to create the finished illusion portrayed from a distance.

Hunger (pictured above) depicts a mannequin in an elegant and quite delicate dress standing in a relaxed position with her hands behind her back gazing upon a store window. The inanimate object is now the spectator rather than the gazed upon subject. She inspects the store in what appears to be a theater or video store with various film posters. The consistent monochromatic red creates a unified surface throughout the composition with a pleasant break of blue with the mannequin’s dress. An aesthetically pleasing work of art which provides a sense of irony.

Charles Turnell communicates complex imagery through an unusual technique of using photography as intricate mosaic pieces. These digital works present high aesthetic value to contemporary image-making with lifeless objects interacting with living environments. Not alive in the sense of literalness but through the colorful impressionist and pointillist palette Charles instills upon the landscape. Through intuition and meticulous detail, Charles Turnell creates composed compositions full of life and fluidity.