Tbilisi art fair hosts Turkish artists

Artisterium, a Tbilisi-based annual International Contemporary Art Exhibition and Art Events organized by the Artisterium Association, has been hosting an exclusive exhibition for Turkish Contemporary art.

The exhibition, which opened on Nov. 3, will finish today after featuring the works of nine artists from Turkey.

“We organized this exhibition with the support of the Art Bosphorus contemporary art fair, which takes place in March in Istanbul,” said Denizhan Özer, the curator of the contemporary artist exhibition.

Noting that their aim was to open a new dimension for contemporary artists, Özer said: “It is very important to be in a good relationship with the neighboring countries for Turkey and this is a part of this action. Turkey can reach far, but it is also important to be active in the regions close by.”

Özer said the artists present at the festival came from a variety of places around Turkey, including Adana, Malatya, Bolu and others. “In this exhibition, we tried to host artists who are not in the main marketplace and who are from outside of Istanbul. With this strategy, we gave a chance to those people,” he said.

Artisterium has been taking place at six different venues. “The exclusive contemporary art exhibition for Turkish artists is taking place in the Literature Museum,” said Özer, adding that in the National Art Gallery, Artisterium’s joint exhibit also hosted Sıtkı Kösemen’s works.

This year the festival’s theme is Free Fall. The term refers to the situation in which persons are detached from the “mother ship” and find themselves in open space without any specific instructions, or even clues on how to survive. They are cut loose from the art-institutional heaven and must find their own, unique gravitational inspiration, according to festival organizers.

The latest political and economic developments as set against the background of globalization are having an effect on the relationship between art institutions and art practice. The influence of institutions providing funding for the arts that support or commission work, subsequently providing visibility, is unquestionable. In recent years, artistic and theoretical investigations into the various issues of identity critically tracing the changes in all spheres of life have arrived at the point where it is impossible to distinguish the author from the system that supports their creation. Because of this, organizers said they chose Free Fall as the theme for this year’s Artisterium.

“We have also reflected the theme,” said Özer, noting that all nine artists had made their creations accordingly. The viewers have the opportunity to discover works by Burcu Orhon, Ceren Selmanpakoğlu, Doğan Akbulur, Musafa Okan, Orhan Tekin, Pınar Yeşilada, Roş, Semih Zeki and Yıldız Doyran.

The exhibition, whose opening also drew Turkish ambassador to Georgia Murat Burhan, is a part of the Koridoor contemporary art program, said Özer.

Özer also said they had tried to reflect the coming aims of the Art Bosphorus festival during the Tbilisi exhibition.

“This year’s Art Bosphorus fair will once again aim to be a different one, not just focusing on market activities. That’s why, once again, we have chosen [to include] performance artists and education programs that will be active during the three days of the fair,” he said.

Art Bosphorus will take place between March 15 and 18