Vadis Turner offers her modern Dowry to Louisville

Opening: February 5th, 2010 5-9pm
Through: March 19th, 2010

Complementing the saturated sweetness and flourish of romanticism surrounding February, NYC’s Vadis Turner will exhibit her confectionary work at The Green Building Gallery, opening February 5th.  Dowry, her second solo exhibit in Louisville, will feature work playing on the roles of love, marriage, feminism, craft and sexuality in society. The show will run through March 19th.

With Dowry, Turner examines the transformative legacy in handmade objects, historically made by women, by creating a collection of contemporary heirlooms. The pieces re-imagine conventional  handicrafts and rites of passage meant to represent the values of Turner’s generation. Heirloom objects include erotic swings made from vintage quilts, human organs made from discarded jewelry, and Faberge-like eggs made with human hair. Just as dowries were traditionally exchanged for societal and marital advancement, Turner’s Dowry will be sold or traded, this time for professional gain.

A Nashville, Tennessee native, Turner received her BFA in Painting and MFA in Studio Teaching from Boston University. Shortly after finishing school she began experimenting with media that connected to women’s roles such as wax paper, panty hose, tampons and quilts. Using her palette of found materials, she has created a visual language where everyday wares are transformed into vehicles for social commentary.

Turner has exhibited in Paris, New York, the National Gallery in Prague and has been featured in Vanity Fair (May, 2009). She is an artist member of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center Feminist Art Base and is in the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Other upcoming solo exhibitions include a show at the Quirk Gallery in Richmond, VA.