An artist based in South Africa

Leesette Turner

Leesette Turner is a calligraphy coach, teacher, and lettering artist in Cape Town. Leesette is endlessly fascinated by all things script – Asian, Arabic, African, Asemic, Roman – the underlying traditions and history, how letters become visual images and our relationship with text. Her philosophy is to have fun using letters as a form of abstract self-expression and not necessarily requiring perfection. Neugebauer’s statement embodies her sentiments: “The scribe is subject to a rhythm that comes from his pulse, from the movement of his blood. A special kind of cardiogram, flowing and ebbing, a translation of invisible mental states into the visible.” A member of the Cape Friends of Calligraphy, Leesette’s works have been exhibited locally and internationally, and her work appears in several international collections.

Highlights

2004 Kalligraphos, Cape Friends of Calligraphy 20th Anniversary, Sanlam gallery, Cape Town,

2008 Worlds Exhibition, Brugge

2010 B.lettered Exhibition, Cape Town

2014 Makers and Thinkers. World Design Capital, Cape Town Stadium