Studio Visit with Artist Khari Turner | Say It Loud | Christie's

Khari Turner creates striking paintings that combine abstraction and figuration in order to, as he puts it, ‘rejuvenate the relationship of my history to my ancestors’ history with water.’ As a Black American originally from Milwaukee, Turner’s work is steeped in this violent history and yet he chooses to celebrate his ancestors ‘for surviving the challenges they faced’ rather than reenacting their suffering. ‘I really love this work,’ says Azizi Rodney, a Production Associate for the Content team, who picked Breathing Is My Occupation as a personal auction highlight. The painting depicts a figure who appears to have jumped into a body of water, the splashes from the impact giving the effect of feathery wings protruding from their back in the moment before they become submerged. For Rodney, there is a metaphysical element to the work as well — ‘it feels like someone envisioning their true inner self when they close their eyes and take a deep breath.’ Learn More: https://www.christies.com/exhibitions...