Gillian Turnham is an Ontario-based artist whose artwork explores the tessellating geometric patterns of Islamic art traditions. She has received training and mentorship from some of the world’s premiere educators in Islamic geometric design, including in pattern analysis and ruler-and-compass construction techniques. Her recent work fuses traditional geometry and illumination techniques with contemporary fine art practice, resulting in watercolor paintings of traditional patterns building from and giving way to their underlying mathematical structures.
Alongside exhibitions and commissioned works, Turnham is a regular teacher for the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and has developed outreach initiatives to enhance awareness and understanding of traditional arts in the community.