Biennial to remain open during holiday

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The 12th Istanbul Biennial is continuing with five group exhibitions and more than 50 solo presentations. The event will remain open during the Bayram holiday. Company photo

The 12th Istanbul Biennial will be open during the Kurban Bayram holiday next week, according to an announcement by organizers.
The biennial, which is being organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), will end on Nov. 13.
The biennial is focusing on artworks both formally innovative and politically outspoken. Its point of departure is the work of the Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996), who was deeply attuned to both the personal and the political. Gonzalez-Torres was also rigorously attentive to the formal aspects of artistic production, integrating high-modernist, minimal, and conceptual references with the themes of everyday life.
The biennial, which is sponsored by Koç Holding, is composed of five group exhibitions and more than 50 solo presentations in Antrepo 3 and 5. Each of the group shows departs from a specific work by Gonzalez-Torres: “Untitled (Abstraction);” “Untitled (Ross);” “Untitled (Passport);” “Untitled (History)” and “Untitled (Death by Gun).”
These five works are reproduced in the companion publication and function as thematic anchors for the biennial. Each group show features a large number of works occupying a single room and is distinguished by its gray walls from the solo presentations. The solo presentations are linked to one or several subjects of the group exhibitions and push the themes even further.
Entry to the biennial costs 20 Turkish Liras. Primary and high school students, teachers, members of the International Plastic Arts Association and those above the age of 65 can obtain discounted tickets for 8 liras.