Artwork by the late Robert C. Turner ’49 to be shown at Black Mountain College
An exhibition featuring the work of the late Robert C. Turner ’49, Alfred University alumnus and former professor of ceramic art in the University’s School of Art and Design, will be shown at the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center in Asheville, NC.
The exhibition, titled “Robert Chapman Turner: Artist, Teacher, Explorer,” opens May 31 at the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center and will remain on view through Sept. 7.
Robert C. Turner, who earned an M.F.A. from Alfred University in 1949, was a special instructor in pottery and sculpture in the University’s School of Art and Design from 1958 until 1966, when he became a full-time member of the faculty. He was a recipient of the State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1973 and was also a past president and honorary member of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). Turner retired from Alfred University in 1979.
He started the ceramic program at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and also taught as a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin. He taught summer sessions at Anderson Ranch in Aspen, CO, and the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, and served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME.
A Fellow of the American Craft Council and recipient of its highest honor, the Gold Medal, Turner was also a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. Throughout his 60-year career as a ceramic artist, Turner received numerous awards for his work, and participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions, both in the United States and abroad. His work is found in the permanent collections at museums in Japan and New Zealand, as well as The Smithsonian, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and numerous other private and public collections. He passed away in 2005.