Carlton Scott Sturgill says of his work...
As a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, collage, and installation, my work takes many forms and incorporates a wide variety of materials. While I often engage with traditional mediums, I also transform everyday objects—items we typically overlook—into art that invites viewers to reconsider their shifting perceptions over time and at varying distances. Though the form and composition of my work may change from year to year, or even piece to piece, each begins with a core set of concepts. I believe meaning is never fixed; it evolves, shaped by individual experiences, identities, and culture. We each view the world through a unique lens, and my work reflects this belief. Whether creating a floral installation from second-hand button-down shirts, a painting using time-honored materials, or a collage crafted from paint chip swatches, I process and interpret the world through my personal filter, creating art from my own distinct point of view. At the same time, I aim to leave space for viewers to interpret my work through their own perspectives. To me, no single interpretation is more valid than another—not even my own. Each perspective reflects the life and experiences of the observer. My work becomes complete in this exchange, as it evolves into a conversation between the material object and the viewer through the dynamic process of seeing. By encouraging this engagement, I hope to create experiences that are as much about personal discovery as they are about aesthetic exploration. Ultimately, my goal is to remind us of the fluid nature of perception and to challenge how we think about the relationships between proximity, perspective, and meaning.
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CARLTON SCOTT STURGILL was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971 and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati (B.A. 2002) and Chelsea College of Art and Design (M.A. Fine Art 2005) in London, United Kingdom. His multidisciplinary body of work includes painting, sculpture, collage, and installation and incorporates a wide variety of materials, with a particular emphasis on repurposed everyday objects. His site-specific floral installations created using second-hand button-down shirts have been displayed in settings as diverse as the Drifter Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, Pegasus Bank in Dallas, Texas, and as part of the New York City Arterventions public art program, through which he was awarded a grant to create works to be displayed along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums both nationally and internationally, including the Cornell Museum of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin, Ireland, the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, and the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art in New York City. After living in Ohio, London and Brooklyn, Carlton relocated to New Orleans in 2015, where he lives with his wife, Nicole.