Beecher Art & Technology Lecture Series Presents Scott Turri

The Department of Visual & Dramatic Arts presents a lecture by guest artist Scott Turri. Turri interprets an excess of technology and the erosion of private life in an ever-growing public world as both a deafening yet inspiring influence in his work. He draws upon ephemeral visual sources that may or may not be recognizable such as a rasterized image of lake water, along with invented linear and shape like forms. Compositions resulting from these sources are infused with the language and look of Pop, Minimalism, and post-painterly abstraction. Although he utilizes today’s technology, Turri still has the desire to subjugate it to the hand made. This is why he remains a painter in today’s digital climate. The process of making the paintings is an integral part of his practice. Although the paintings are smooth, made with precision and with little evidence to the hand, they are still expressive. The approach allows the viewer to respond to the image in its graphic manifestation. Turri has had a broad range of artistic experiences: as a self-taught drummer playing in punk rock, to an improvising percussionist in a performance art band, writing for New Art Examiner, BOMB, and Afterimage magazines, to currently concentrating primarily on painting and experimental animation. He is represented by James Gallery. Along with these pursuits, Turri is also an educator and holds a full-time lecturer position in the Studio Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh.