“Stone, immortal in its eternal transformations, provides the lure of mystery, the elusive, the sublime, the inapprehensible.” (1)

Johnny Turner’s respect for the materiality and intrinsic language of stone establishes works which are both monumental and remarkably beautiful. Turner imbues his work with awareness of time, history, geology and memory. Tension between contrasting raw and sensual smooth surfaces heightens the expressive dramatic qualities and establishes a confluence of style and spiritual concern.

Turner, whose sculptures are held in important public and private collections in New Zealand and internationally, has received numerous prestigious awards including the Premier Award at the 2006 Manukau Vessel & Sculpture Exhibition, and the New Zealand Sculpture Award 2005. Johnny Turner was selected for the International Stone Symposium 2004, Roundtop Centre d’Art, Maine, United States of America, and was also one of eleven international artists selected to create a permanent sculpture for the Hong Kong Sculpture Society, Tin Shui Wai Park, Hong Kong, 2008.

1. Artist statement, 2008.