Istanbul highlights contemporary art

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The fair will bring together 107 artists from 25 galleries and art institutions around the concept ‘Parallel Stories, Constructs, Unknown.’

The 6th Artbosphorus Contemporary Art Fair will open tomorrow at Istanbul’s Haliç Convention Center. This year the fair’s concept is “Parallel Stories, Constructs, Unknown.” In addition to the participating galleries, the fair will showcase garden sculpture, video art programs, installation projects, and modern dance performances until April 7.

One of the performances that will be featured during the opening ceremony will be Beste Naiboğlu’s show with a cast of 30 people. In the performance that she has conceived with the directors of Katalan Theater Group La Fura dels Baus, Alex Olle and Carlos Padrissa, she will engage in non-verbal communication with the audience though dance, theater and mime.

The fair’s artistic director Denizhan Özer defined Artbosphorus as a fair transcending visual art, the focus of the traditional art fair concept, and creating opportunities for experiencing works from different artistic disciplines.

Speaking about the fair program, Özer said that the exhibitions this year had been designed in parallel with the concept of the fair, “Parallel Stories, Constructs, Unknown.” “In accordance with this concept, we will be witnessing our artists’ creations, which have been formed as a result of the intersection between dream and reality in their lives,” he said.

Artists from the world

The event will bring together 107 artists from 25 galleries and art institutions and art lovers from around the world. Visitors will have the opportunity to see works by artists such as Muzaffer Akyol, Devrim Erbil, Fikret Mualla, Tülin Onat, Ömer Kaleşi, Abdulkadir Öztürk, Habip Aydoğdu, Argun Okumuşoğlu, Ali Raşit Karakılıç, Emire Konuk, Mehmet Güler and Tomur Atagök, as well as works by middle-age and new generation artists including Sait Günel, Yasemin Şenel, Çetin Pireci, Ekin Onat, Leyla Emadi, Pemra Aksoy, Semih Zeki, Gizem Enuysal, Ahmet Sarı, Seydi Murat Koç, Barış Cihanoğlu, Ruken Aslan, Yıldız Doyran, Tansel Türkdoğan, Sabahat Çıkıntaş, Bahri Genç, Bülent Demirağ, YeşimŞahin, Hamdi Telli, Nur Özalp, Özlem Özkan, Demet Taşpınar and Malik Bulut.

Artbosphorus 2013 will welcome various galleries and artists from abroad. In this way, visitors will see samples with a wide range of different artistic conceptions from different countries. England, Belgium, France, Germany, South Korea, Spain and Georgia are the countries participating in the fair this year.
As in previous years, an exhibition of garden sculpture will be organized at this year’s event. The garden show, which covers an area of 1,000 square meters, will showcase 30 statues from 14 artists. Artists Kemal Tufan, Abdulkadir Öztürk, Ali Dirier, Deniz Pireci, İbrahim Koç, Dilara Akay, Pınar Yeşilada, İlker Yardımcı, Güncel Öztürk, Çetin Pireci, Emire Konuk, Mustafa Yüksel, Orhan Tekin, Tuğrul Selçuk, Serenay Şahin, Arzu Parten and Varol Topaç will all create works turning the garden into a work of art.

In the video art section of the fair, works by Bruce Allan and George Unsworth from England, Shalva Kahakhanasvili from France, Magda Gruli from Georgia, Park Beyond UK from South Korea can be seen as part of the program.

Speaking about the interest of Turkish people in contemporary arts, Özer said that perception and understanding of contemporary art is growing in Turkey as well as throughout the world.

“According to a report by the European Fine Arts Foundation, China had the biggest share of the global contemporary art market in 2011. It was followed by the U.S., England, France, Taiwan, Germany and Turkey. Italy, Singapore, Arab Emirates lagged behind Turkey, according to this report,” he said.

Highlights of the event

This year, among the highlights of the event will be world renowned Dutch artist, Pat Andrea. Representing of an art trend known as Nouvelle Subjectivité, Andrea’s works, which comprise painting, design and gravures, will be in Istanbul for the first time. A selection from of his gravure exhibition “Max Klinger 1915(Zelt) – Pat Andrea 2012 (ten),” featured at the Spanish Benveniste CP&P Contemporary between December 2012 and March 2013, will be in Istanbul as part of the fair.

Another highlight of the event will be Turkish artist Emire Konuk. She will present an innovative contemporary art selection entitled “Electronic Mysticism,” made up of moving sculptures.