Seascapes and stories
Aylin Öney Tan - aylinoneytan@yahoo.com
İzmir, ancient Smyrna, and its environs has been among the most bountiful agricultural lands in the Eastern Mediterranean, providing valuable crops to the western world from cotton to tobacco, from raisins to dried figs. Lucien Arkas is the third generation boss of Arkas Holding, a leading transport company of Turkey, based in İzmir. His great grandfather had emigrated to Ottoman İzmir from Marseilles back in the 18th century and the family was involved in trade since then. Arkas blends his Catholic French origins well with his adopted land, he is now a patriotic Turkish citizen, and above all, he is a true lover of his native town İzmir, and of course the sea. He contributes greatly to the cultural life of İzmir, holding great exhibits of art and archaeological collections at the Arkas Art Center housed in the former French Consulate, to supporting Arkas Trio, Turkey’s first and only trio of piano, violin and cello.
Needless to say, Arkas is enchanted by the sea. As an avid collector of art, he has acquired a considerable collection of seascapes, a topic that attracts him naturally. One can see he is heartfelt when he talks about the sea: “Water is life, water attracts one, water is beautiful; as my work is encompassed with the sea, my family origins in Marseilles, our family business in sea trade, a citizen of İzmir, I’ve been inclined to select paintings depicting landscapes of water.” The latest exhibition at Arkas Art Center houses a series of “Landscapes of Water,” from the most tranquil to the most stormy, evoking either senses of peace, or depicting tragedies of war, including pictures of ports, waterways, canals, rivers, bridges, lakes, ponds, even the mountains and the sky as sources of water. The sea has been the source of the wealth of the Arkas family, now he is giving back to the city that has been their home since more than a century. The sea was the medium that transferred food cultures across the Mediterranean, and food trade was the core of İzmir’s port. Now, the Arkas family is also involved in the production of food, they own brands of wine and olive oil, widening their scope and shifting from transporters to producers.
The Eastern Mediterranean is full of such intriguing stories of families that have transplanted themselves from one land to another. Theirs have been a happy story, for the good of the family and for the good of their adopted country. İzmir is lucky to have such a passionate pioneer of culture. The exhibit provides a moment of sea breeze that refreshes the soul, and nurtures one, just as the Mediterranean has cradled civilizations for centuries.
Bite of the week
Picture of the Week: The exhibition “Landscapes of Water” will be open at İzmir Arkas Art Center till Dec. 29. The exhibition has 88 paintings from 70 artists from the early 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. Most of the paintings are on public display for the first time. My seascape pick is “Waves” by Johannes Hermann Brandt, a luminous depiction of foamy waves, so typical of Mediterranean shores.
Cork of the Week: As a true bon vivant one would easily guess that Lucien Arkas appreciates and enjoys a good glass of wine. Such an enthusiast would not settle for whatever is available in the market but rather create his own; so he did. LA Vineyard is one of the biggest single parcel vineyards in Turkey in İzmir’s Torbalı district. Their products have a diverse variety of ranges under the titles of Idol, Smyrna, Antre, LA Passito, Mon Reve and the prestigious Consensus. For further information check their website: http://www.lawines.com.tr/eng/
Fork of the Week: LA Vineyard restaurant in Torbalı is an idyllic spot to enjoy a meal viewing the stretching vineyards and offers a range of dishes to match the wines. Lucien Arkas is also the owner of Kristal olive oils, even if you do not remember the name, you cannot get it wrong with the picture of the graceful ship on the label, an iconic symbol of the company’s origins in sea trade.