When Vadis Turner returned to Nashville from New York in 2014, her hometown embraced her with open arms. At that time, Turner was making gorgeous ribbon paintings of stormy skies and sunsets, and textured landscapes based on literary characters and female rites of passage that popped with color. Using materials from the domestic sphere, Turner’s work was meaningful, accessible and totally gorgeous. In November, Turner’s Zeitgeist show Bedfellows showed her turning toward monochromatic compositions: huge, ropey wall reliefs that recall sails, ships and the wings of planes. Turner is an artist willing to walk away from a successful style in order to evolve. Her confident new work rewards us with a new way of seeing that is surprising and transformative. ERICA CICCARONE
Best Visual Artist
Vadis Turner
Photo: Eric England
