Carlton Scott Sturgill
Toni Heath Gallery proudly presents A Private View, the first solo London exhibition by Carlton Scott Sturgill.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971, Carlton Scott Sturgill lived in North America’s Most Livable City almost his entire life before moving to London in 2004. Sturgill’s work has been shaped by his hometown; a place so concerned about clean living that Larry Flynt’s Hustler magazine was banned from sale within the city limits for over twenty years. Through his work he scratches the surface of the city’s utopian image, revealing that the behaviour its inhabitants display in public changes dramatically once the curtains are drawn and the web-cam is on.
Sturgill creates paintings and mosaics in which jovial figures from 1950’s advertisements and paint chip samples from the all-American company Ralph Lauren offer a wholesome first impression. A very different notion is burned into the viewer’s consciousness as intimate images of Cincinnatians taken from swinger websites begins to bubble to the surface. The hidden becomes visible as we step through a one-way door, making it impossible to see the work, and society as a whole, in the same light.
Sturgill’s work raises questions about how much we actually know about our friends and neighbours, what secrets they possess, and how we react when information slips beyond the private realm, making us the keepers of knowledge that we were never supposed to have. More importantly, it forces us to question why we find that knowledge so damn fascinating.
Carlton Scott Sturgill has exhibited throughout the USA & Europe. He currently lives and works in London.
Solo Exhibitions
2006 A Private View, Toni Heath Gallery, London
2004 Backyard Games, York Street Gallery, Newport, Kentucky
2003 HEADLINE: 1971-2003, SSNOVA Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Selected Group Exhibitions
2005 A Moment In Time, Temble Bar Gallery, Dublin
2005 artbelowzero, Westbourne Studios, London
2005 American Elusive, Lounge Gallery, London
2005 Big Makes Me Feel Good, Triangle Space, London
2004 HeartFELT, Northern Kentucky University Gallery, Kentucky
2003 A Very American X-mas, The Mockbee Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2002 StudioWorks II: Directors’ Choice, Reed Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2002 DAAPWorks, University of Cincinnati Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2002 Advanced 2D Exhibition, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2001 You’re Fired!, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2001 The Innocent Eye Test, University of Cincinnati Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2001 Drawing From Life, University of Cincinnati Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Publications
2004 City Beat, Playful Subversion: The Deceptive Art of Carlton Scott Sturgill, Jason Gargano
2004 City Beat, Look Here!, Julie Bernozott
2003 City Beat, Review of HEADLINE 1971-2003, Jason Gargano
Awards
2002 Graduation Marshall, University of Cincinnati
2001 Ludwig & Anna Woesczek Scholarship
2001 Alumni Junior Level Scholarship
Education
MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, University of the Arts, London
BA Fine Art (Hon), College of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning, Cincinnati