Adam Turman

Adam Turman: Did You See That?

Experience the bold, bright and colorful works of famed Minnesota artist, muralist, print maker Adam Turman as he explores the wonders of nature — and how we perceive them — at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Made using acrylic and spray paints on large cradled panels repurposed from the theater industry, Turman’s all-original exhibition might catch you off guard with playful-yet-subtle references to iconic Minnesota motifs, local folklore and even your own childhood nostalgia. Look closely: Did you see that?

Adam Turman

Adam Turman has been a working artist, muralist, print maker since 2003. His bold illustrations riff on Minnesota culture with stylized takes on everything from the Stone Arch Bridge of Minneapolis to Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji. Notably, his work evokes a sense of place that translates across generations. Adam’s murals can be found all over the Midwest, and his screen prints are part of many private collections worldwide. Adam works with major brands, local boutiques and private collectors alike to make art a part of everyday life.

Adam grew up in the Twin Cities, and got his start as an artist by making gig posters for bands coming through popular Twin Cities venues. He drew influence from the bold, graphic style of ’80s art and comics. After working as an in-house graphic designer for the University of Minnesota, Adam took his studio practice full-time in 2003. Since then, he has become one of Minnesota’s most popular artists.

Adam connects with art lovers through his collection of colorful screenprints, and creates commissioned pieces in the form of logos, illustrations, murals and paintings. Clients use his work to advertise events, connect with local audiences, and celebrate their organizations. He has worked with companies such as Surly Brewing, 3M, Polaris and Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota.

To learn more about Adam Turman and his deep connection to all things Minnesota, visit his website at adamturman.com.

Mr. Owl

48 x 72 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$15,500

A family of great horned owls, affectionately referred to as “The Hoots,” has moved into a nest on my driveway. Often at night, one of the owls will sit high atop a Norway pine, a perfect silhouette with ear tufts/ horns. It was an amazing inspiration that just had to become a painting.

The twist is that Mr. Hoots is holding onto a Tootsie Pop. If you remember the ad campaign, “Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take? One… Two…ah, Three.” I loved those commercials growing up, and it’s the perfect pairing to Mr. Owl.

Adam Turman

Adam Turman

Send a Raven 48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$9,500

Ravens are majestic and beautiful birds, and “raven” is one of my favorite colors — the darkest, neutral cool black.

I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones, the epic ancient story of family houses, battles, castles and dragons. In the series, ravens are their carrier pigeons, sending news. You’ve heard the line, “Winter is Coming,” and this raven carries that news wrapped around its leg, with the Wall of Castle Black in the background.

Adam Turman

Octopus’s Garden

72 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$14,000

I love the Arboretum’s Japanese Garden. It’s a beautiful space with rock formations, a waterfall, and did you know an octopus could fill the pond?

Look, the Fab 4 are there, too in their yellow submarine. My Mom introduced me to The Beatles, and we often visit the Arb together. A visit to this garden always makes me think of the Beatles’s song, “Octopus’s Garden,” which reminds me of Yellow Submarine (Album, Movie or Song). Sometimes when I get an idea in my head, I just have to paint it out, and this is my version of the Japanese Octopus’s Garden.

Adam Turman

Hey BooBoo

48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$9,500

Sometimes I like to reimagine my favorite pieces of art that I’ve created. This bear is one of them. The original artwork, titled “Bulky,” was made a few years ago of a bear resting its head on some gnarly claws, and rather sweet-looking.

Having the chance to work in a larger size gave me space to put the bear in a new scene with a vintage Thermos, picnic basket, and a green brimmed hat. This painting is inspired by the legendary cartoon characters I watched growing up, Yogi and his pal, Boo Boo, who were always trying to steal campers’ food. “Hey Boo Boo!”

Adam Turman

The Masters

48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$10,000

I don’t know about you, but sometimes there’s something that I see that brings me immediately back to a favorite scene in a TV show, movie or book — usually from my childhood.

Saturday morning cartoons were something that I looked forward to, especially “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Such a great comic and TV show, it was weird, different and cool. Every time I go kayaking, or walk along a lakeshore in the heat of the summer, I’ll happen upon some turtles. If I see four turtles on a log, they have little colored bandanas ready and poised for action. Cowabunga!

Turman

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

72 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$15,500

When I was a little kid, my family would visit the spectacular celebration of tulips at the Arboretum. The fields went on for what seemed like forever from my short vantage point. I would imagine how hard it would be to try to walk through them gently, without breaking any stalks. Impossible.

Here, I’ve painted the tulip fields from my childhood memory and invited a very famous Minnesota resident and his companion, on a dare — to tread as lightly as possible through the tulips.

Good luck, Paul and Babe: I know it’s impossible!

Adam

Sight Seeing

72 x 48 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$15,500

Walking through the Hosta Glade at the Arb, you are not supposed to stray off the path. This made me wonder, “What forest creatures wander off the path and do their own sightseeing?”

The stag standing so regal in the clearing is a nod to Harry Potter’s patronus in the “Prisoner of Azkaban.” But, if you don’t know the reference, no worries! The imagery in this piece came together to draw you in, and you can make up your own stories as to why the fox has wandered off the path and who is sightseeing who? It has become one of my favorite paintings.

Adam Turman

Adam Turman

Rockin’ Robin

24 x 36 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$3,500

This one makes me laugh. The original concept was much more formal, a couple of robins with their eggs in a nest, in the spring. When I started to really, really, think about robins, springtime, music, and what might make me laugh — “Rockin’ Robin” by Bobby Day hopped in.

I took the classic version of a robin painting and made it rockin’. The guitar is a Gibson ES350 played by Barney Kessel from the legendary Wrecking Crew session musicians. The leather jackets the robins are wearing are inspired by one of my favorite bands of all time, The Ramones. “Hey Ho, Let’s Go!” Now they’re true Rockin’ Robins.

Adam Turman

Butterfly in the Sky

48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$9,500

Maybe you’re already singing the tune: “Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high. Take a look, it’s in a book, a reading rainbow.” I’d come home from school, grab some snacks and switch on the TV — just in time for “Reading Rainbow.”

I loved that show so much and this painting immediately brings me back. The path the rainbow takes is from the animation at the beginning of the show. However, I’ve changed the butterfly to Minnesota’s State Butterfly, the Monarch, and added a bunch of its friends.

Northern Lotus

48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$9,500

Have you been to the Arb’s wonderful Winter Lights displays? One of my favorites is the display of huge lotus flowers with lights that nestle amongst rocks, evergreen bushes and a water feature.

To me, the lotus and the twinkling lights look like stars in the night sky, and the colors are similar to the Northern Lights. I imagine the Northern Lights glowing down on the lotuses and of course, penguin friends would be hanging around checking out the sights.

Adam Turman

Adam Turman

Here Comes the Sun

18 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$2,000

Red-winged blackbirds are some of the first birds I hear in the spring from the pond just outside my studio in Golden Valley. They are so loud, and have so much to say. I imagine their squawks yelling out to me as I walk in the building, “Whassup?!” “GOOD MORNING!” “Working hard, or hardly working?”

When the sun finally rises higher than clouds in the spring, this Beatles song, “Blackbird” is queued in my mind, and I love to think of red-winged black birds sunning themselves listening to it. Of course, they’d need to wear shades.

Adam Turman

Roses are Red

48 x 48 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$9,500

Are they really though? Maybe the red roses started out as white until somebody painted them red. My Grandma’s front yard had beautiful rose bushes that she meticulously tended. I couldn’t actually touch these roses, because wire fencing surrounded all of the bushes to keep bunny visitors away.

Inspiration is from Grandma’s rose bushes, Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and Disney’s remake of the scene where the Queen of Hearts has her Card Soldiers paint roses red while the March Hare looks on, searching for his pocket watch. He’s running late, of course.

Adam Turman

Being Green

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$4,000

One of my all-time favorite people is Jim Henson, the creator of “The Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street.” He’s been an inspiration for as long as I can remember. Growing up watching his shows, his work helped shape who I am as a creative person. His originality, artistry, creativity and passion are magnetic.

Here is a young Henson original: Can you guess by his collar? “Kermie,” (said in Piggy’s sweet voice), singing, “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” See a rainbow in the water? It’s a nod to another song he sings while playing the banjo, “The Rainbow Connection.”

Adam Turman

Scarlet and Gold

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$3,500

I love reading, and the storytelling that takes my imagination to new, vivid and complex worlds. When my oldest daughter was about 7 years old, we’d tag team the “Harry Potter” series. After each book, we’d watch the corresponding movie.

The movie experience exploded my own imagination and dramatically enhanced each story. You get this one immediately if you’re a Harry Potter fan. If you don’t, maybe you like snowy owls in scarves? These items are inspired by House Gryffindor, and Harry’s pet owl, Hedwig, and the golden snitch used when playing Quidditch.

Adam Turman

Minnesota Beetles

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$2,500

This piece is a double riff. Another piece of my work — “MN Abbey Road” — is a riff of the Beatles “Abbey Road” album cover art. (Minnesota iconic characters walk across the Stone Arch Bridge.) In this version, four beetles, native to Minnesota, walk across a twig with the Mississippi river, and the skylines of Minneapolis and St. Paul in the background. See what I did there?

When my own research on Minnesota native beetles wasn’t turning up much good information, I reached out to the School of Entomology at the University of Minnesota. In response, they sent me a video of the Top 10 beetles in Minnesota. How amazing! Four are featured here, from left to right — Tortoise Beetle, Stag Beetle, Spotted Lady Beetle and the Tiger Beetle. And to repeat what the professor said at the end of the video, “If you see ‘em, don’t squash ‘em.”

Snail Trail

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$2,500

Did you know that Scamp trailers are from Minnesota? And did you know that the owner of Scamp trailers was nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023? Super cool!

It’s funny sometimes, how some things just come together. I didn’t know either of these facts before I came up with the concept and started painting a snail with a trailer as its shell making its way through a forest with ferns.

Adam Turman

Tapped

24 x 36 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$4,000

Did you know the Arboretum taps nearly 400 trees in sugar maple forests for making maple syrup?! This got me thinking, What do I put syrup on?

Hungry Jack pancakes of course! And who better to make them than Poppin’ Fresh, the Doughboy. Here’s our doughy chef opening the syrup tap directly from a maple onto a heaping pile of flapjacks and into our hearts. Awww.

Adam Turman

Adam Turman Night Kettle

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$4,000

When I told a buddy of mine about my theme and title for this show (“Did You See That?”), he said: “You know what you should do? Do a play on Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks,” but with actual hawks”

I thought that was pretty funny, and “Night Kettle” was created. Did you know a group of hawks is called a kettle? Each hawk featured is native to Minnesota, from left to right — Swainson’s, Cooper’s, Red Shouldered, Red-Tailed. The red-tailed hawk is pouring tea from a kettle and into classic Jadeite mugs.

Adam Turman

Queen Bee

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$3,000

The rusty patched bumblebee is an endangered species, and as a pollinator, extremely important to the environment and life. As such, they should be treated as royalty.

This bee wears the Queen Mum’s royal jewels and commands dignity and respect from her hive and the throne of flowers over which she presides. She’s totally blinged out. We need to cherish and help to protect the rusty patched bumblebees we have left, without them, life would be very different.

Adam Turman On the Hunt

24 x 36 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$3,500

Ever hunt from morel mushrooms? When I had the sketch of mushrooms for this painting drying on an easel, an artist friend saw it and said, “You know, those mushroom shapes kinda look like leopard’s butts.” So, I took that idea and ran with it!

After some research, I found that the clouded leopard has a very unique pattern on its coat that looks surprisingly similar to a morel mushroom. Who knew? I took that big cat’s coat and wove it into the concept for this painting, adding dimension to the hunt of these rare creatures.

Turman Paper Cranes

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$3,500

In elementary school we read, “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” by Eleanor Coerr. At the same time, our class also learned about origami, and we learned how to fold paper cranes.

Collectively we made more than a thousand paper cranes in various sizes and colors. It was really fun and memorable for me. The book and that experience has become a process that I try to do on a weekly basis, if not daily: Seek inspiration and create.

Adam

Adam Turman

Lady Slippers

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$2,500

Which one of these statements is true?

A. Our State Flower is the lady’s slipper.

B. Our State Lady is Judy Garland.

C. Our State Movie is the “Wizard of Oz.”

D. Our State Road is the yellow brick one. Ope! You caught me there.

“The Wizard of Oz” was so much fun to watch when I was a kid. The black and white to spectacular color change was amazing. The ridiculousness of it all was super fun to me. Plus, the overall message of “there’s no place like home,” is very true for me.

My intent was to make a painting incorporating the Minnesota State Flower, the showy lady’s slipper, in a unique way. I immediately thought of the ruby slippers Dorothy wore in “The Wizard of Oz,” and mashed those together for a truly Minnesota-loved concept.

Adam Turman

Three-Mile Drive

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$3,500

There’s so much to take in on the Three-Mile Drive at the Arboretum, I can’t even list all of the amazing sights!

I love how the drive twists and turns, unfolding new scenes and environments around each bend. When I drive through, and my truck slowly crawls up the hills, I imagine one of my favorite comic characters and his stuffed tiger flying down the hills in their wagon, across and through Three-Mile Drive. “Wahoo!” Wouldn’t that be fun?!

Adam Turman

Midwestern Flamingo

24 x 36 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$4,000

I’ve always loved great blue herons. They’re so majestic and somewhat prehistoric looking. Contrast the blue prehistoric with the pink grace of a flamingo. Minnesotans are snow birds, so how would a heron try to fit in with a flock of flamingos? With pink galoshes, of course!

Adam Turman

Still Waiting...

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$2,500

Some might relate fall as synonymous with the Arboretum’s fall colors and its nearby fields that produce more than 400 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds. In my family, fall traditions revolve around Halloween and an extremely famous comic strip and Halloween TV special.

A mashup of these two, in my mind, includes a field of pumpkins. If you look closely you’ll find some hidden clues amongst the pumpkins that drive the title of “Still Waiting …” home. Look closely to see a young boy’s blanket, two ghosts and an outline of a specific dog.

Adam Turman

The Call of the Loon

36 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$4,000

I wanted to paint a loon, because I love loons. I love their handsome markings, and I always respect their calls. Everytime I hear them, I’ll stop what I’m doing, shut up and listen. I’ll always take a call from a loon.

I took the loon call a creative step further by asking, “What if the loon was calling from one of those original ‘brick’ cell phones from the ’80s?” You know, the kind that they used on “Miami Vice” or “Magnum P.I.?” And there ya go. Would you take a call from this loon? Oh, for sure!

Adam Turman Honeycrisp

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic on cradled panel

$3,000

Go with me on this. There’s a few things going on in this painting, and they don’t fully connect, but I hope they make you smile.

First, the Honeycrisp apple was discovered in 1974 by the U of MN, and apparently the original tree was sort of scraggly, and almost passed over. I’m so grateful it wasn’t! Honeycrisp apples are my favorite!

Next, I grew up with Winnie the Pooh. Pooh Bear was always getting into sticky situations trying to gather honey or apples. Then, the cover of the book, “The Giving Tree,” has a young boy reaching for an apple from a tree. I’ve always thought this illustration was really sweet. Finally, Santa Bear was kind of a thing in my family. My sister collected them, and we brought them out in the late fall, through the holidays.

All these ideas are mashed up together in this painting. The elements may not fit perfectly together, but I do think they make for a warm-fuzzy feeling.

24 x 24 x 2

Acrylic and spray paint on cradled panel

$2,500

There’s a cardinal couple that hangs out in my backyard all year long, and have been a part of the neighborhood for years. My family calls them Cardi B and Cardi C.

I’ve heard that cardinals are associated with love, strength, good fortune, determination, good luck and happiness. It’s also a belief that cardinals are sent to those in need during difficult times, like when a friend or family member has recently passed.

This painting is inspired by Cardi B and Cardi C and all that they represent to each other and anyone else who’s paying attention.

Adam Turman

Love Me Knot

Wendy DePaolis, M.A. Arboretum Curator of Art and Sculpture 952-334-4019 (mobile) 612-301-1873 (office) depao008@umn.edu

REEDY

Exhibits are included with Arboretum Admission Tickets: arb.umn.edu