Sex, drugs and poppies mark Turri’s exhibit

You might know Pittsburgh Center for the Arts as that big yellow building home to everything… You might know Pittsburgh Center for the Arts as that big yellow building home to everything from watercolor cityscapes, to creepy, interactive video skeletons. Among the motley bunch of artistic endeavors is the inventive collection, “Poppies + Heroines” by Scott Turri.

A two-room exhibit, “Poppies + Heroines” delivers a flashy display of modern art. Inside the gallery space, the paintings are arranged traditionally, but each boisterous piece pops off the clean, white walls with blaring, fluorescent color palettes that shock the senses.

Silhouettes of birds and flowers play off the colorful backgrounds, while beneath the surface of each canvas, Turri conveys the deeper meaning behind his work.

Turri’s inspiration isn’t too difficult to grasp, although there is some ambiguity. Until you read the explanations, you’ll stand in front of the paintings and whisper to your companion, “Is he trying to say