Elgiz Museum displays sculpture works amid skyscrapers

ISTANBUL

The terrace of the museum, which is 1,500 square meters in area, is hosting a joint sculpture exhibition that focuses on different subjects from modern life. The exhibition, Terrace Exhibitions <40, is curated solely according to the age of the artists, rather than according to any specific theme or concept.

Istanbul’s Elgiz Museum is continuing its Terrace Exhibitions series in its open-air exhibition space amid skyscrapers in the city’s business center of Maslak with a unique project showcasing the works of 27 artists, all of whom are under the age of 40.

The terrace of the museum, which is 1,500 square meters in area, is hosting a joint sculpture exhibition that focuses on different subjects from modern life. The exhibition, Terrace Exhibitions <40, is curated solely according to the age of the artists, rather than according to any specific theme or concept.

Visitors to the show can see Alfred Jarry’s grotesque drama character “King Ubu” finding form in Çağdaş Erçelik’s sculpture, while Ümit Turgay Durgun’s “Phoenix” draws attention thanks to the different kinds of material used in its construction. Nermin Ülker, meanwhile, addresses space problems she focused on during her education while also adding facts from her own life. In the end, the lines, plans and spaces of the works all take their reference from the tensions in Ülker’s life.

Arif Çekderi’s works also spread in space, as his sculpture makes use of the emptiness. Aşan Akın, who uses digital art techniques, also defines the lines and spaces in his sculptures. Malik Bulut, on the other hand, who is known for his large-scaled marble sculptures, is another sculptor at the exhibition who has demonstrated his talent for using busy lines with marble. Elsewhere, Zeynep Birced’s palm tree “Dubai” defines symbols that are used with metal with her sculpture.

With the exhibition, Elgiz draws attention to sculptures that audiences have not previously seen. In addition to the artists listed above, Ahmet Özparlak, Aynur Öztürk, Bahadır Çolak, Caner Şengünalp, Çayan Yılmaz, Dağhan Yürürler, Derya Özparlak, Dilşad Akçayöz, Esra Sağlık, Ezgi Sönmez, Kağan Toros, Onur Kaçmaz, Pınar Yılmaz, Serdar Kaynak, Seval Şahin, Tanzer Arığ, Tuğba Özbağkıran, Tuğberk Selçuk, Tuğçe Yücetürk and Uğur Çakı are also taking part in the event, which opened in June and will continue until Aug. 29.


The Terrace Exhibitions series commenced in 2012 as part of a project to showcase the works of sculptors under the age of 40 and has since become a fixture at the Elgiz art space. Applications from sculptors under the age of 40 are evaluated by an advisory committee consisting of Seyhun Topuz, Rahmi Aksungur, Nilüfer Ergin, Haşim Nur Gürel and Can Elgiz. With this year’s contribution of Andrew Rogers as guest committee member, the series has been raised to an international level.

Prior to his invitation to the Terrace Exhibitions <40, Rogers had built a name for himself as the creator of gargantuan land works that are even visible from space. He has undertaken 48 different land art projects in 13 different countries such as Chile, Israel, Bolivia, China, Turkey (in Cappadocia), Sri Lanka, the United States, India, Australia, Kenya, Iceland and Slovakia. His current work is on display in the garden of the Elgiz Museum.

His project at the museum, titled the “Winding Path – The Search for Truth,” was displayed in a 1,500-square-meter open-air sculpture park.