A New Dawn by Johnny Turner from New Zealand. Granite, 2012
“Its form is symbolic of a rising planetary or celestial body; waxing in the front, representing the young who have most of their life still in front of them; waning in the back, representing those of us whose lives are mostly behind us but nevertheless present.” -Johnny Turner
UMaine – Buchanan Alumni House
Artist Statement
My Sculpture is dedicated to the Ocean, the power and movement of water and the sound of the waves clashing to the stones of the coast.
Water changes stones with time. It takes the awkward form away, so I tried to give the hard granite a soft form. It should give a feeling of movement and the endless circulation of water.
Artist Biography
Born in Christchurch, Wellington-based sculptor Johnny Turner has travelled the world sourcing stone and undertaking public and private commissions.
Inspired by his mentors – but largely self-taught – Turner works with hard volcanic and metamorphic rock to produce enduring works of art. His work is influenced by the passage of time and the notion of giving new life to ancient materials drawn from deep within the earth. Turner draws his inspiration from a range of diverse source material ranging from classical history to indigenous mythology and the Japanese aesthetic.
Turner works with and against the notions of hardness, weight and the coldness of marble and stone to bring out the soft detail and colouring of each unique piece. Graduating grains, soft speckled colourings and contrasting textures run through his work. Turner has won numerous prizes for his sculpture and has produced public artworks in a number of different countries including Hong Kong, Russia, Germany, France, the USA and the United Kingdom.