Eleven Fine Arts Presents Ben Turnbull's Celebration of Modern Day Heroes

Written by Paul Cavagnaro Wednesday, 07 September 2011 20:42

London.- Eleven Fine Arts is delighted to present a new series of collages by Ben Turnbull, entitled "Supermen", which constructs modern day heroes from collaged fragments of vintage comic book idols. On the advent of the ten year anniversary of 9/11, Turnbull celebrates the real life heroes, the firemen, and policemen who protect us everyday, in iconic new images meticulously constructed from fragments of fictional superheroes including Captain America, Daredevil, and The Fantastic Four as well as Batman, Spiderman, and the Hulk. The palette of red, white and blue that predominates in the work and gives form to these figures reflects the depth of their patriotism and willingness to serve. "Supermen" is on view at the gallery from September 16th through October 22nd.

Turnbull celebrates the real heroic strength which exists outside the pages of comic books and examines who we look to for protection from an early age to adulthood. He comments, ‘the life changing events of 9/11 led us all to believe in the need for real life superheroes. Superman didn’t fly down to save the falling buildings, there was no Caped Crusader ready to do battle with the arch-enemy and Spidey didn’t spin his web. Without the need of a phone-booth or a revolving door these true patriots donned their iconic costumes and sacrificed life and limb for what they believed in. With every cut-comic hero and dialogue I hope to bring out the true merits of the Brave and the Bold in their fight for Truth, Justice and the American Way.’ In his studio Turnbull is surrounded by all the things he has collected over the years, including toy guns and comics; these become his tools when he responds to events like Columbine or the Virginia Tech massacre. He has made numerous works using super hero figures in the past, and has been collecting comics since he was 11 or 12.


This new series of works is made from fragments of over 1000 pre-1990's comics, the ones that Turnbull read as a child, and created by his own heroes including Jack Kirby, Sal Buscema and Steve Ditko. Turnbull’s work has been collected nationally and internationally and has been featured in numerous publications. His latest exhibitions include: A.C.M.E presented by Paul Smith and Eleven in 2010, I Don’t Like Mondays, Eleven, London 2009, A Nightmare on Greek St, Lazarides Gallery, London, 2008 and Outsiders, Lazarides Gallery, London, 2008. In March 2010, Ben Turnbull had a solo presentation at Volta, New York. A collage from the series was featured in Eleven’s summer 'Brit Pop' exhibition alongside work by Peter Blake, Natasha Law and Jonathan Yeo.

Founded in October 2005 by Charlie Phillips, previously founding director of Haunch of Venison, and Laura Lopes. Eleven is committed to exhibiting the best of international contemporary art by both established and emerging artists. Susannah Haworth is the gallery manager. Eleven operates from its permanent gallery space in Belgravia and has also run pop up galleries throughout London. Eleven shows at the Volta art fairs in New York and Basel. Eleven also acts as an art advisory service and with twenty years of experience in the art world, Charlie Phillips is well placed to help clients looking to start a collection or build on an existing one. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.elevenfineart.com

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