Wire report

Ken Turner, the 100-year-old artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank: ‘I’m not a revolutionary, I’m a simple rebel’

The painter, sculptor and performance artist has devoted his life to making art available to the masses. Now with a new exhibition, the centenarian discusses inequality, inspiration, and why he won’t be stopping any time soon ‘Life is short, art long,” says Ken Turner, reading from a book of aphorisms by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. And he’s half right, really, because at 100 years old – and very possibly the world’s oldest performance artist – art might have been long, but life hasn’t been all that short for him, either. And he has filled those years to the brim with radicalism, experimentalism and a singular dedication to pushing ideas as far as he can make them go. In the 1960s, Turner moved from painting towards a socially conscious form of public art, creating giant inflatable sculptures that visitors could inhabit and interact with decades before immersive art became a thin

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The painter, sculptor and performance artist has devoted his life to making art available to the masses. Now with a new exhibition, the centenarian discusses inequality, inspiration, and why he won’t be stopping any time soon ‘Life is short, art long,” says Ken Turner, reading from a book of aphorisms by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. And he’s half right, really, because at 100 years old – and very possibly the world’s oldest performance artist – art might have been long, but life hasn’t been all that short for him, either. And he has filled those years to the brim with radicalism, experimentalism and a singular dedication to pushing ideas as far as he can make them go. In the 1960s, Turner moved from painting towards a socially conscious form of public art, creating giant inflatable sculptures that visitors could inhabit and interact with decades before immersive art became a thin

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According to The Guardian’s linked report, Ken Turner, the 100-year-old artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank: ‘I’m not a revolutionary, I’m a simple rebel’, The painter, sculptor and performance artist has devoted his life to making art available to the masses. Now with a new exhibition, the centenarian discusses inequality, inspiration, and why he won’t be stopping any time soon ‘Life is short, art long,” says Ken Turner, reading from a book of aphorisms by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. And he’s half right, really, because at 100 years old – and very possibly the world’s oldest performance artist – art might have been long, but life hasn’t been all that short for him, either. And he has filled those years to the brim with radicalism, experimentalism and a singular dedication to pushing ideas as far as he can make them go. In the 1960s, Turner moved from painting towards a socially conscious form of public art, creating giant inflatable sculptures that visitors could inhabit and interact with decades before immersive art became a thin

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The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-07-23T07:00:38+00:00.

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Primary source: Ken Turner, the 100-year-old artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank: ‘I’m not a revolutionary, I’m a simple rebel’ via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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