The Modern Bohemian: Joaquin Turner & The Spirit of Carmel's Art Scene

I first met Joaquin Turner several years ago, while wandering the hidden alleyways of Carmel-by-the-Sea—the kind of meandering stroll that often leads to unexpected treasures. Back then, Joaquin’s gallery was tucked into the Su Vecino Court, in the very space now home to Nicole Cromwell’s calming blue-washed studio. Even then, there was something about Joaquin’s presence that felt anchored—rooted in the past, but curious about the future.

Today, Joaquin’s gallery has made the short journey one door over, now occupying a space just off Dolores Street between 5th & 6th, just before the steps lead up to the Carmel Art Association. But the move hasn’t changed the spirit of the place. If anything, it’s evolved. Joaquin’s gallery reads less like a commercial space and more like a living museum, curated with a collector’s eye and a historian’s reverence.

While Joaquin is a formidable painter in his own right—his use of color, light, and composition places him squarely in the lineage of the early California plein air painters he so admires—it’s his devotion to preserving and celebrating the bohemian legacy of Carmel that truly sets him apart. His gallery is filled not only with his own work but with pieces that honor the spirit of the artists who once roamed this fog-kissed coastline, brush in hand, capturing its moody cliffs and cypress silhouettes.

To step into Joaquin’s gallery is to step into a dialogue between generations. You feel it in the careful placement of each frame, many of which are antique or custom-built—extensions of the artwork itself. Framing, as Joaquin and I agree, is a lost art, a sacred partnership between artist and presentation. And like the artists he reveres—Thomas Hill, Granville Redmond, the early painters of Big Sur and Yosemite—Joaquin sees art not just as aesthetic, but as persuasion, as preservation.

I’ll never forget a recent conversation we shared about John Muir, and how he used paintings by Thomas Hill to sway Congress into protecting California’s wild lands—many of which I hiked through last year while on the Pacific Crest Trail. In that moment, the threads of art, history, and landscape were pulled tight, all converging at Joaquin’s worktable. As if on cue, someone entered the gallery carrying a forgotten bundle of old frames discovered in a Monterey estate—offering up relics of the past to someone who knows exactly how to breathe life back into them.

Joaquin Turner is many things: a painter, a historian, a curator, and—on occasion—a DJ spinning records at La Playa Hotel. But above all, he’s a steward of culture. He shares his space, his stories, and his expertise with humility and joy. Whether you’re new to art or a seasoned collector, make his gallery your first stop in Carmel.

And as you leave, wander next door to his old space, now transformed by the work of Nicole Cromwell, and continue on to Jennifer Perlmutter’s gallery, where art becomes metamorphosis. This is Carmel’s creative heartbeat—a vibrant, evolving tapestry of artists, each adding their thread to the story.

And in that tapestry, Joaquin Turner is a cornerstone.