Object number2021.3.2

Untitled (looking for self-preservation), from Black Alchemy Vol. 1 (2013 - 2016)

Portfolio/SeriesBlack Alchemy Vol. 1 (2013 - 2016)

Date2015

Artist Aaron Turner (American, born 1990)

CultureAmerican

MediumInkjet print, printed 2020

EditionEdition 1 of 6

DimensionsImage: 24 15/16 x 20 in. (63.3 x 50.8 cm)
Sheet: 25 7/8 x 20 15/16 in. (65.7 x 53.2 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, Advisory Council for Photography

On View

Not on view

Period21st c

Classification(s)

Photograph

SignedOn verso, signed in black ink on label in lower right corner: A Turner

InscribedOn verso, handwritten by the artist in black ink on white label in lower right corner: UNTITLED (Looking for self-preservation / 2015 / [signature] / 1 of 6 20in x 25in AARON R. TURNER

ProvenancePurchased directly from artist

Vassar Exhibitions

Chronostasia: Select Acquisitions 2020–2025

The Ongoing Moment: Recent Acquisitions of Photography at the Loeb

Label TextA figure hovers at center, semi-visible beneath layered exposures and interferences—shadow, blur, the impression of a gesture. Aaron Turner builds images from concealment, emphasizing blackness as material form. This photograph emerged from his return to the Arkansas Delta, during which he sought to explore ancestral histories through abstraction. His studio practice involves constructing temporary installations before photographing them with large-format cameras. The layering techniques build visual complexity through multiple interventions, presenting identity as constructed defense. Working within what Frank Bowling termed art “hinging on secrecy and disguise,” the photograph withholds as much as it reveals, asserting agency through deliberate opacity.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu