MISSOULA, MONT.- Missoula Art Museum invites the public to experience Doug Turman: Curious, the first solo show of Montana artist Doug Turman at MAM. This survey of various works on paper includes Turman’s Love Notes series, whimsical etchings, and an array of paintings on paper. A master of the small, almost incidental, work on paper, Turman works with obsessive precision and a categorical knowledge of art history. Together, these works present a picture of a sustained artistic vision that has been steadfast for nearly forty years. A postmodernist at core, Turman re-contextualizes his source material, juxtaposes text and images, appropriates at random, dabbles in tromp l’oeil, and throws in a variety of painterly and cultural references to make satisfying works that are firmly rooted in play, irony, satire, and fun. Turman says, “Each painting is its own little world. At one point I decided I wanted to be able to paint whatever I could think of.”
MAM Senior Curator Brandon Reintjes says, “I’ve been in awe of Doug’s dedication to artmaking and the range of his artistic expression since I first met him in 2001. Associate Curator John Calsbeek and I are enormously pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him to present this solo exhibition at MAM. His work is smart, hopeful, and reminds us of the possibilities inherent in artmaking.”
Turman was born in Seattle and grew up in Missoula, where he studied art with Lela Autio and George Gogas. He received his BA in fine arts from Oberlin College and MFA from the University of Montana. Between degrees, he worked at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the first museum dedicated to modern art in the United States. Together with his wife Mary Lee Larison, they owned Turman Larison Contemporary, an art gallery in downtown Helena, for 16 years. His current work in painting, printmaking, and photography is strongly influenced by his many trips to Italy, where he teaches painting workshops annually.
Doug Turman: Curious is on view at the Missoula Art Museum from September 4, 2020 through January 9, 2021.
Founded in 1975 and accredited by the American Association of Museums since 1987, MAM is emerging as the leading contemporary art museum in the Intermountain West. MAM is situated on the traditional, ancestral territories of the Séliš (Salish or “Flathead”) and Ql̓ispé (upper Kalispel or Pend d’Oreille) peoples. MAM is committed to respecting the indigenous stewards of the land it occupies. Their rich cultures are fundamental to artistic life in Montana and to the work of MAM. MAM is a fully accessible, free public museum boasting eight exhibition spaces, a library, and education center in the heart of Missoula’s historic downtown.
