Countdown to Contemporary Istanbul begins

ISTANBUL

The Contemporary Istanbul International Art Fair has brought together leading galleries, artists, institutions and organizations from Turkey and the world, as well as collectors and art lovers in Istanbul for 11 years. 

The 12th edition of Contemporary Istanbul will be held from Sept. 14-17 concurrently with the 15th Istanbul Biennial and with the exhibitions of many art institutions and galleries. 

The art fair to be held at the Istanbul Congress Center and Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Center is preparing to welcome many domestic and foreign art lovers with many new attractions. 

Seval Özcan, one of the artists whose works are featured at the fair, creates abstract compositions with different textures and layers on canvas, and bears witness to the world’s and humanity’s silent scream in her paintings. Aiming to emphasize the occasional transitions in our lives and the occasional social problems, the artist wants to draw attention to the light in the darkness and the darkness in the light with the black and white tone transitions in her works. 

Born in Istanbul in 1983, Özcan works on themes such as space, planets, our world, humanity, emptiness, rhythm, motion, depth and dimension in her works. She is a graduate of Ankara University’s Faculty of Communication and Marmara University’s Department of Fine Arts.

She obtained her Master of Arts degree from Marmara University’s Institute of Fine Arts. The works of art create a different arrangement this year and reflect the general philosophy of the gallery.


‘Tears of the World’

One of Özcan’s paintings that will be displayed at Contemporary Istanbul is titled “Tears of the World,” which represents the tears shed for humanity.

Drawing attention to the darkness inside the light, and the light inside the darkness with black and white tonal gradations, the painter symbolizes the spirit of the world with the highest frequency color, purple.

The small, circular form in front represents each individual alive, and the large circular form behind represents the world. 

Özcan wants to illustrate how each individual, through the projection of pain or happiness in their lives, directly influences the supreme being we call the world. Covering every aspect of universal issues such as injustice, inequality, cruelty, desperation on her canvas, the artist emphasizes in her work that divine balance will be restored. The world’s happiness only depends on the happiness of the people living on it.

With “Violence,” Özcan says she wants to draw attention to fears from the storm of violence that surrounds our world, where we live carelessly. The fierce competition between the good and the bad and the beautiful and the ugly is depicted. 

“Doomsday,” a symbol of a conscious awakening, “Mercy” and “Calmness” are other paintings that Özcan will display at the fair.