June 2, 2022
This year marks the centenary of the birth of the Scottish artist William Turnbull (1922-2012) who represented Britain in the 1952 Venice Biennale but whose last big retrospective was at the Tate in 1973. London dealer Offer Waterman makes up for it this season, taking over the whole of Frieze’s Cork Street building to show works from 1946 to 1995 in collaboration with Turnbull’s estate (June 29-July 20). Most pieces will be for sale, with works on paper up to £50,000, paintings for up to £220,000 and sculptures ranging from £80,000 to £1.1mn.
Turnbull’s time as an RAF fighter pilot in the second world war informed much of his work and the artist is best known for totemic sculptures that reflect a devastated Europe, exemplified in the Barbican’s ongoing Postwar Modern exhibition. Offer Waterman’s show also gives prominence to Turnbull’s painting practice, which went hand-in-hand with his sculpting. A ground floor gallery will be dominated by the artist’s monumental colour-field paintings (1965-72), inspired by a US trip on which he met Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman.
Waterman will also bring two Turnbull bronzes for the central sculpture display at London’s Masterpiece Fair (June 30-July 6). News of the showings coincides with this week’s publication of a comprehensive book, William Turnbull: International Modern Artist (Lund Humphries). It is edited by art historian Jon Wood and has a foreword by Nicholas Serota, chair of Arts Council England and the previous longtime director of Tate.
