Artwork copyright William Turner. Photo courtesy of the artist.

China Falls, 1994

William Turner
(American, born 1940, died 2021)

Location: Allen Creek Elementary, Marysville

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist William Turner painted China Falls from imagination using an energetic, spontaneous process. He placed the canvas on the floor and started the composition with gestural brush strokes. He notes, "With one color I lay down one stroke, the second mark relates to the first, the third to the first two and so on as I move through a series of colors and types of marks until a composition begins to emerge and forms start taking positions in space… It is a process of creating order out of chaos – actually creating chaos as a necessary first step toward order."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Marysville School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist William Turner (1940-2021) created paintings that investigate color and form, with a rich color palette and spontaneous and imagined forms. He painted to jazz music and his work demonstrates rhythm, energy, improvisation, and a resolution of opposites. He noted, "My paintings are intended to be simultaneously stimulating and contemplative."

Turner grew up in Tacoma, Western Washington. He studied at Washington State University and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma in 1965 while also working the night shift at a paper mill. He was drafted into the Vietnam War, enrolled in the Naval Officer Candidate School, and served from 1965-1968. After his discharge, he traveled and hitch-hiked through Europe, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania and was deeply affected by Africa’s rich cultures, landscapes, and the fragility of life on the Serengeti. Turner earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1973. He taught art at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle and Tacoma Community College. His paintings are in the collections of the Museum of Northwest Art (MONA) in La Conner, Nordstrom Corporation, Tacoma Art Museum, and more.