Keith Turnbull | “… and the virus made everything a bit strange”

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Keith Turnbull, "Bear," 2021, clay, acrylic paint

This evocative exhibition project presents recent body of metaphoric ceramic sculptures by Keith Turnbull, an Edmonton-based sculptor, art educator, and a community activist. The exhibition consists of 24 clay sculptures conceptually developed and produced during the first two years of the COVID-19, representing one per month of the pandemic. While the sculptures are of animals, recognizable from their heads, their body parts are from different zoo- and anthropomorphic creatures.

Small, removable animals ride most of the pieces, making them possible to use as coin banks.

Keith Turnbull started this series of sculptures in the Spring of 2020 when the first wave of the pandemic was underway, and many people were hunkered down with no clear understanding of what was going to happen, or how long it would last. Each sculpture is a metaphor for how people were/are feeling during the challenging times of the pandemic, which began in March 2020. Over time, the sculptures grew almost organically, about one for every month of the COVID-19 pandemic. This exhibition is the premiere presentation of Keith Turnbull’s new series of works and celebrates the strength, determination, and resilience of Edmonton’s visual arts community and the community at large during these stressful and challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artist’s Biography

Following a long career in public library and cultural administration, Keith Turnbull now works as a sculptor, primarily in clay and papier mache clay, specializing in figurative work (both, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic subject matters). Keith’s education in sculpture has been primarily self-directed at several sculpture classes held at and organized the University of Alberta Extension Department, City of Edmonton Arts Centre, Harcourt House Artist Run Centre,  and the Sculptors’ Association of Alberta (SAA). He has been a regular attendee at drop-in sculpture sessions at Harcourt House Artist Run Centre for the past twenty years and has also served as a monitor for these sessions.

Keith Turnbull has participated in numerous public art projects and group exhibitions, including Annual Members’ Exhibitions and the exhibitions of figurative art at Harcourt House.  He has also shown at various art venues with the Sculptors’ Association of Alberta, including Visual Arts Association Alberta, Visual Arts St. Albert, Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, the Old Strathcona Art Walk and The Night of Artists. Keith has also participated in several exhibitions at the Alberta Craft Council and holds the Annual Fall Exhibition & Sale at his home studio. Keith Turnbull is a member of the Board of Directors of the Sculptors’ Association of Alberta. His works are in several public and private art collections across Canada.