Zip Series by Ken Turner
A series of large-scale abstract paintings by Ken Turner explores how intense colour, rhythm, and process can be orchestrated into moments of visual harmony and resolution.
This year, 64-year-old Ken Turner graduates from the Goldsmiths MFA programme, exhibiting his work as part of the Degree Show.
Turner's 'Zip Series' comprises a body of large-scale abstract paintings developed through sustained research into colour, material, and process. Working with bright primary colours alongside vivid oranges, greens, purples, and pinks, he is drawn to the challenge of bringing intensity into balance.
The paintings emerge through a process of searching and discovery. Rather than working towards a predetermined image, each painting develops through a series of decisions made in real time.
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It's less about arriving at a final image and more about making visual decisions in real time.
The series takes its name from the "zips" of American painter Barnett Newman, whose work became a key catalyst for the project. Alongside Newman, influences such as John Hoyland, Pat Steir, and Goldsmiths alumna Fiona Rae inform the development of the work.
Through focused research and studio experimentation, Turner explores how these traditions of abstraction can be extended and transformed through his own use of colour, surface, and material.
The degree show includes two monumental diptychs (an artwork consisting of two flat panels or plates of equal size) measuring 2.4 metres square. These are the largest paintings he has ever made and their scale has shaped the way they were produced.
Unable to fully stand the works upright in his studio, the paintings were created either flat on the floor or leaning at an angle, meaning the Degree Show will be the first time they are seen fully installed as intended.
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Turner's methods often suppress visible brushwork, creating surfaces that can appear mechanical or printed. This approach is informed both by his use of household paints and by decades spent working in the building industry, where surface, finish, and efficiency often take precedence over gesture.
He joined the Goldsmiths MFA in Autumn 2022 on the four-year part-time programme, balancing study with work and family life. Enrolling on the course fulfilled a long-held ambition dating back to his Fine Art studies in the 1990s.
The decision to begin the MFA came at a difficult moment. Turner started the programme two years after the death of his nineteen-year-old daughter Natasha, who passed away during lockdown following a 16-month battle with breast cancer.
Looking back, he recognises that much of his earlier work reflected the grief he was carrying at the time.
I understand now that the paintings and sculptures I was making back in 2022 were very much a reflection of the grief I was experiencing then.
The support of tutors and fellow students helped him develop both his practice and confidence. Working alongside younger artists, sharing ideas, and engaging in critical discussion has been a rewarding part of his experience at Goldsmiths.
As his studies progressed, so too did his understanding of his own work. Reflecting on earlier series, Turner now sees them as manifestations of a mind navigating confusion, uncertainty, and loss. The paintings of 'Zip Series' move in a different direction, towards clarity, resolution, and renewal.
If someone's first reaction to my work is 'wow', I feel I've reached something in them.
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Through colour, scale, and rhythm, 'Zip Series' seeks to create moments of connection. His paintings vibrate with energy while offering a sense of positivity, clarity, and quiet enlightenment.
For Turner, graduating from the MFA at 64 represents more than the completion of a degree. It marks the fulfilment of a long-held ambition, a period of personal healing, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his artistic practice.