Artist's Statement
by Karen Turcotte
Telephone: (707) 928-0323
Email: karenturcotte@yahoo.com
I arrived at my conceptual perspective through a certain cynicism that ecology and history
teach. A background in horticulture has taught me to respect the fragility and beautiful
cruelty of nature’s evolutionary web. As a student of history I understand the inevitable
repetition of conquering and destruction man has sustained for millennia. My message is a
contrast between primordial forms and colors, and the preternatural chaos of man’s dominance.
Nature is the ultimate sculptor. Using natural materials in unexpected ways, I strive to
invite the viewer to take a closer look at their place in the world.
My early education in art
was biased toward painting and drawing. My classmates and I stayed as a fixed unit
taking half days at class and half days at the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston.
During that time I was never exposed to working in three dimensional form.
I married in 1981 and we moved to San Francisco that same year. Our first apartment
in the city had a large backyard begging for a garden. I found the additional dimensions
of Landscape design profoundly inspirational. I went to school for Ornamental Horticulture,
and started working as a garden designer. After schooling in Landscape Architecture and Garden
Design through UC Extension, I began a garden design business.
For the next 13 years I worked in and around the Bay Area landscape design industry until my
life changed during a trip to Italy in 1996. I happened upon an incredible mask maker in
Florence. He captured expressions and attitudes for theatrical productions. In 1997 I created
a pair of masks. In 1998 I produced my first series of multiple sculptures; “Communion” and
“Madonna”, both sold in several venues in San Francisco and Sausalito and both continue to
sell today. I am a member of ArtSalonSF and the founder of EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture
Walk, an annual environmental sculpture walk.
Contact Information:
Karenturcotte@yahoo.com or
Karen@Karenturcotte.com
www.ArtSalonSF.org
(415) 885-5315
Copyright 2004 Karen Turcotte Williams