The eye-catching artwork of Deasa Turner addresses events, issues, and concerns that all individuals have in their lives—whether personal, social, political, or cultural. Theatrical tableaus and scenes about life are formed from the creation of assemblages from old and new found objects. All materials are fair game and include common, mass-produced, vintage, and junk. Children’s toys, birdcages, old phones, and kitchenware are a few of the items that are characteristic of Turner’s work. Sourcing materials through garage sales, thrift shops, roadside rubbish, and eBay are all a part of her process; every object collected speaks to Turner in some way.
Once an array of objects populates her studio, she begins the process of assemblage, aimed toward a theatrical narrative rooted in everyday scenarios. Transmogrify is integral to Turner’s way of working. Destruction by fragmentation and burning are ways that she alters the character and surface of objects to create humorous or tragic effects. The scarring and scorching of these objects and their attachments from something new, clean, attractive, or precious, into something that is stressed, injured, or painful provokes a psychological and emotional predicament. These transformations can be hurtful and devastating, and yet aesthetically magnetic and beautiful.
In Turner’s vignette exhibition"Urban Jumble" at Hooks-Epstein Galleries, her work spoke to the chaos and precariousness of living in today’s world—one where change and expansion is imminent. Nothing is familiar, but the ghost of the past lingers. Yet people, through all of the psychological and physical traumas that abound, try to persist, and the world continues to go round.
Deasa Turner is a locally known artist based in Houston, TX. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions in Houston, including "Politics of SEX" at G Contemporary Art Gallery and "Urban Images" at the Kinder Morgan Building both in 2022, "The Big Show" at Lawndale Art Center and "The Visual Arts Alliance 37th Juried Exhibition" Virtual Exhibition both in 2021, and "The Trouble with Toys" at Bill’s Junk in 2019. Turner attends the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
