Orhan Pamuk’s exhibition opens in Prague

PRAGUE

The third edition of "Orhan Pamuk: Consolation of Objects," an exhibition showcasing works by Türkiye’s Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, has opened at the DOX Center for Contemporary Art in Prague.

Organized in collaboration with the Museum of Innocence, the Dresden State Art Collections, Munich’s Lenbachhaus Museum and DOX, the exhibition will run until April 6, 2025.

According to the Museum of Innocence, the exhibition, curated by Michaela Silpochova, highlights Pamuk’s artistic journey alongside his literary legacy. Visitors can explore displays featuring objects from the Museum of Innocence, sketches, photographs and new creations developed over the past three years.

“At the heart of the exhibition stands Orhan Pamuk’s the Museum of Innocence. This story of the unfulfilled love of Kemal, a rich son of a factory owner, for his charming but poorer cousin Füsun was conceived by its author from the beginning as both a novel and a museum, which opened in Istanbul in 2012. It unfolds here through quotidian objects carefully arranged into numerous ‘cabinets of curiosities’ that reflect everyday life in Istanbul from the 1950s to the 2000s. In these three-dimensional Dadaist-surrealist still lifes, Pamuk plays with the ambiguity of the relationship between word and image, lending them poetic force,” Silpochova said.

The journey begins with a view of the Bosphorus from Pamuk’s apartment, where he has lived and worked for over 40 years. Artworks inspired by his book “Balcony” are featured, including photographs, paintings of seagulls and landscapes visible from his window. The exhibition also emphasizes Pamuk’s visual connection to Istanbul, with significant attention to his book “Orange.”

The final room features aerial photographs of Pamuk’s writing desk over the past two decades, alongside his illustrated journals and selections from his published works. At the core of the exhibition are 41 vitrines from the Museum of Innocence, offering a glimpse into Istanbul’s everyday life from the 1950s to the 2000s through meticulously arranged objects.

As part of the exhibition, Ali Kazma’s video triptych “A House of Ink” explores Pamuk’s literary and artistic practices, offering a glimpse into his studio, library and archives.

"The exhibition offers a rare insight into Pamuk’s lesser-known artistic work, which intertwines literature with visual arts. It reflects his deep connection to Istanbul while drawing on the history of Ottoman and Western art. The artistic work presented in the exhibition bears references to many of the author’s novels while simultaneously reflecting on the history of Western and Ottoman art, literature and thought. It is also marked with an unmistakable 'Istanbulness' stemming from Pamuk’s complex relationship with his native city and his ongoing artistic research into its turbulent and magnificent past stretching from the Ottoman Empire through the modern Republic of Türkiye to the ruins of tradition in the present day," Silpochova noted.

The exhibition also features Pamuk’s newest works, inspired by dialogues with Old Masters and modern painters from Dresden and Munich. Through these, Pamuk continues his exploration of the interplay between literature and visual arts, creating a cultural and artistic conversation that bridges the past and present.