Gamble to become a full-time artist pays off with debut exhibition

A former Irish swimming champion has described how taking a gamble to become a full-time artist has paid off as he prepares for his debut exhibition at Ireland’s largest art fair.

Conor Turner, 31, originally from Dublin, represented his country at juvenile and senior level, before building his career in property.

But taking up painting with his family to pass the time during the coronavirus lockdown has led his life into a different direction.

One of his clients later spotted one of his abstract works hanging on the wall during a Zoom call, and that started him on his path to Art Source at Dublin’s RDS this month.

“It’s the biggest showcase of my work to date,” said Turner who now lives just outside Kilkenny city.

“Art is a relatively new venture for me.

“My wife and her family were self-isolating and one evening, we decided to do portraits of each other, it was just a bit of a laugh but I kept at it as a pastime.”

It was only when a US client noticed and later bought some of his work, that abstract expressionist artist Turner found the confidence to become a full-time artist.

Some soul searching and advice on the art world from established artist Kevin Sharkey, whose works Turner is a fan of, led him on his new path.

“I fleshed it out with him, I asked him ‘am I insane or can I do this’ and he gave me some tips and the mindset to understand that my art is not for everyone, and some people will tell you straight out they don’t like it,” he said.

“But I’m getting inquiries in (about the art) from the most weird and wonderful places.”

Fragments Of Joy, an expansive, six-metre long work spread across five canvasses and which took months to complete, will be his showstopper at Art Source.

The show features over 200 of the best Irish and international artists and galleries, a big selection of affordable art and pieces from some of the biggest names in the art world, such as Tracey Emin, Andy Warhol and John Redmond.

Show organiser Patrick O’Sullivan said it is an opportunity to discover new artists.

“The Irish public shows increasing demand for art with every passing year and Art Source has become a must in the calendar year for anyone looking to add a piece of art to their collection,” he said.

“As a collective, Irish people have an innate cultural appreciation for the arts and Art Source not only gives them the opportunity to bring home one-off original artworks, but also to meet the artists behind the pieces.”

More than 15,000 people are expected to attend the show which opens at the RDS on Friday November 14 and runs until November 16.

For more information and tickets visit artsource.ie.