Test of Strength

Terry Turrell

Terry Turrell created this sculpture from scrap metal, twisted wires, and painted wood. A large, ghostly figure is connected to a smaller figure with a red jacket by two springs that imply a tension between the two, a 'test of strength'. The figures are made out of carved wood and wire, the front one having wooden and wire arms that can move in unison and the back one is all carved wood which has been painted. The figures are attached to a base of 3/8 x 1-1/2" steel.

American sculptor and painter Terry Turrell was born in Spokane, WA, in 1946. Primarily self-taught, Turrell works with various original and found medias to create sculpture, paintings, and assemblages. He credits a creative family with inspiring his foray into art, as well as a mild bout of polio at the age of eight just one year before the vaccine became available in the U.S. He spent his sickbed days drawing and building toys from objects at hand.

Turrell traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest throughout his late teens and early twenties, supporting himself by selling handmade wares. Though he considered himself creative, he did not begin to pursue the fine arts until the mid 1980s. In 1989 he held his first exhibition, a solo show at the MIA Gallery in Seattle, WA, and has since exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and in Paris, France.