Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Ken Turner, the 100-year-old artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank: ‘I’m not a revolutionary, I’m a simple rebel’
Ken Turner, a 100-year-old artist believed to be the world's oldest performance artist, is the subject of a new exhibition at Wharfside Arts Hub in Penzance, prompting a wide-ranging conversation about his eight-decade career. Trained under Fernand Léger and connected to figures such as John Berger, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, Turner shifted in the 1960s from painting towards socially conscious public art, including giant inflatable sculptures that let visitors interact with them long before immersive art became fashionable. His career has been defined by a consistent refusal to conform to art-world conventions, most recently expressed last year when he drove a tank over a Tesla as a protest against corporate greed and rising fascism.
The exhibition, timed to his centenary, features new work alongside a filmic portrait made by his son, the film-maker Huw Wahl, who describes his father's painting as becoming increasingly playful with age. Turner, drafted into the mines and then the Royal Engineers during the second world war, emerged from service determined to make art but wary of formal art institutions, turning down a place at the Slade School of Fine Art and refusing to sit his final exam at Regent Street Polytechnic rather than conform to expected styles. He has written two books, Crashing Culture and A Life Being Ken Turner, and continues to paint and perform, insisting on play and imagination as central to both art and education.
In short
- Centenarian artist Ken Turner has new exhibition in Penzance.
- Career spans inflatable public sculptures to driving a tank over a Tesla.
- Lifelong rebel against art-world convention, still creating at 100.
Explained simply
Ken Turner is a 100-year-old artist whose eight-decade career has consistently challenged conventions within the art world and engaged with social and political issues through his practice. Trained under modernist painter Fernand Léger and connected to important post-war figures such as critic John Berger and painter Frank Auerbach, he emerged after the Second World War determined to pursue art independently. He is believed to be the world's oldest active performance artist, having developed his practice over decades in response to changing artistic and political concerns.
After serving in the mines and Royal Engineers during the Second World War, Turner emerged determined to create art on his own terms rather than within formal institutions. He famously turned down a place at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, instead developing an independent artistic path that moved away from traditional painting in the 1960s. He pioneered large interactive sculptures and immersive public art experiences, creating inflatable works that invited audience participation long before such work became mainstream in the contemporary art world.
Turner's practice has been consistently motivated by social conscience and a commitment to addressing political issues such as corporate greed and fascism through provocative public performances and artistic interventions. He has written extensively about his work and philosophy, insisting throughout his career that art and education should prioritise imagination and play over conformity and rules. Now at 100, he continues to paint and perform, remaining committed to these principles across a career that spans from the post-war period to the present day.
Art Culture Elections Entertainment Music Politics