Humor informs artist’s latest exhibit

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Jerrold Turner said his latest show, “Reality in Question,” has been “lurking” in the artist’s mind for the last couple years.

Now “Reality” has finally emerged for the rest of Benicia to appreciate.

Eighteen to 20 of Turner’s oil paintings, widely ranging in size, will grace the walls at Gallery 621 for Turner’s show. A reception is scheduled for Saturday.

The work, Turner said, harkens back to his childhood love of cartoons.

“It just sort of came out,” he said. “The humor of it, I found, was a relief from the seriousness and preciousness of fine art. The humor of it got a hold of me.

“There’s a name for all this. This is surrealism. Beyond realism. In my case, I called it ‘reality in question.’ In other words, what is reality, who defines it, is there any real absolute? It could be anything.”

Turner, 79, holds an important place in the Benicia art community: He launched both The Outsiders and Da Group, groups of Benicia artists who paint and exhibit together. Local artists Terry Hughes, Susan Johnson and Nikki Basch-Davis, among many others, all cite Turner as an influence and teacher.

A Navy veteran and UC-Berkeley-educated structural engineer by trade, Turner “gravitated” toward art in the 1960s. “It just seemed so natural,” he said. He never had formal art training, “but I painted with some really good painters,” he said.

Turner painted with Lundy Siegriest, son of Louis Siegriest, a member of the famed “Society of Six” who painted outdoors, socialized and exhibited together in Oakland in 1910s and 1920s. “That’s what I think is really valuable,” he said of the experience of creating with highly talented artists.

“I think every artist really is self-taught. Nobody can do it for you. You just have to expose yourself to the right influences, or go to the right places and do it on your own.

He never chose between engineering and art.

“I didn’t think of it like I had to do either/or,” Turner said. “I am an engineer. I love physics. I love math. I am a painter. For a while it was switching back and forth between right brain/left brain, but as I got along in years, I found that I was on both sides all the time.”

Turner moved to Benicia eight years ago. Living downtown, he has seen the area blossom with new artistic expression, especially since the opening the Plein Air Gallery and Gallery 621.

“It’s the kind of thing you’d see in Paris, where people are painting on the street,” he said.

If You Go
Jerrold Turner’s “Reality in Question” is on display at Gallery 621, 621 First St., through Aug. 5. An artist’s reception is Saturday from 5-8 p.m.