Artist Asli Torcu @ Pi Artworks Istanbul - "Touched by Image" Exhibition

Asli Torcu

Touched by Image

Pi Artworks Istanbul

15 March – 3 May 2025

" Each photograph contains a riddle, and the human gaze

directed towards it reveals this riddle, which is

the echo of its own questioning.’’

-Michel Frizot

ASLI TORCU

Evcilik Oyunu, 2019

Mixed media on geotextile, 100-x-150-cm

© Aslı Torcu / Courtesy of Pi Artworks

Pi Artworks Istanbul is pleased to present Touched by Image, a solo exhibition by ASLI TORCU. In this exhibition, the artist presents works that explore the disappearance and rebirth of images in uncertainty.

Touched by Image is a space of discovery that exposes the fragile nature of time and memory. The paintings are made in layers, carrying traces from the past into the present, reflecting the paradoxes of memory and time. With their multilayered surfaces—sometimes erased, sometimes re-emerging—these works reveal an evolutionary process informed by uncertainty and the inevitability of change.

"Like the primordial chaos in which all elements are mixed together," (Ovidius, " Metamorphoses ") past, present, and future intertwine on the artist’s canvases, evolving into new meanings. The paintings encourage the viewer to confront the images that undoubtedly exist within themselves and to question the riddles and triggers they provoke. However, there is no definite solution to this conundrum; the past remains an uncertain space, constantly reconstructed through the spontaneity of images from the present. 

As well as documenting lost images, the paintings also engage with themes of childhood and discovery. In one painting, two children are attempting to discover treasures. This symbolizes the joy of human curiosity and the necessity of reflection in survival itself. However, this discovery does not only reference the past; it also offers the possibility of evolution and future understanding. These moments, suspended in a timeless void, are reshaped in the traces of the past and continue to exist in constant transformation.

William James' concept of “touch-images” offers an important key to the way these works are experienced. According to James, some images are not limited to visual perception; they can sometimes trigger a bodily response and evoke a physical resonance in the viewer. In the artist's works, colours, textures and forms speak to the viewer not only through the gaze, but also with an intuitive and tactile intensity. ‘Touched by Image’ functions as a laboratory that questions the concepts of memory and time, while offering a space for reflection on the existence of images. The exhibition invites the viewer to confront their own past, lost images and their echoes today. Each painting exists as a puzzle, a call and an endeavour to remember in the midst of uncertainty. However, rather than reaching a definitive conclusion, this endeavour is experienced as a process open to wandering between images, getting lost and reappearing.  

ASLI TORCU (b. 1981, Turkey)

Aslı Torcu has been living and working in Paris, France. After graduating from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Painting, she continued her education in France and completed her PhD at Paris VIII University, where she also taught. She is currently working as a lecturer at the École Supérieure d'Art de Dunkerque-Tourcoing.

Her practice is closely related to the subject of memory and is inspired by archive images. Her practice, which is figurative in essence, emerges from a search for an atmosphere of colour based on pictorial abstraction.                             

PI ARTWORKS ISTANBUL

Piyalepasa Istanbul, 32 B Piyalepaşa Bulvarı, Istanbul

www.piartworks.com

Davide Balliano @ Dirimart, Istanbul - Culebra

Davide Balliano: Culebra
Dirimart, Istanbul
Through 14 July 2019

DADIDE BALLIANO

UNTITLED_0144, 2019

Plaster, gesso and lacquer on wood

152.4 x 152.4 cm

© Davide Balliano ; Courtesy of the artist and Dirimart, Istanbul

Dirimart presents Culebra, an exhibition of recent paintings of New York-based artist Davide Balliano. The show marks the artist’s first solo presentation of his work in Istanbul.

Davide Balliano’s austere research operates on a cosmos of calculated shapes, halved arches and spirals, bearing traces of baroque and modernist architecture. Sourcing from detailed geometrical constructions, his paintings in plaster and gesso on wood, evolve through progressive alterations, erosions, and weathering of the surface, carrying the work to the third dimension on the verge of sculpture. The result is a constellation of dynamic compositions, mapping the complex system that surrounds and contains us, or at least the artist’s sketch of his impression of it.

However, recently, Davide Balliano’s attention shifted inwards, focusing on the dynamics that regulate our nature and identity as humans, both in the historical context of our time and in relation to the surrounding universe. A perceptive illusion is introduced to its vocabulary: vibrating motion of wavy torrents, resembling the sinuous line of a heartbeat, the hypnotic drafting of a seismograph or the truth revealing echoes of a polygraph test.

In the body of work exhibited at the show, a kind of duality imposes itself on the viewers. A harmony of opposites, a contrasted equilibrium between the machine-like perfection of geometry and the guttural violence of scarred surface. The duality can also be characterized as a staring contest between the surgical coldness of the architectural elements, and the organic warmth of dripping and melting; a dialogue between the rationality of social dynamics and the subconscious demands of our erotic or violent impulses.

The title of the exhibition is borrowed from Curzio Malaparte’s controversial novel Kaputt. There culebra, Spanish for “serpent,” is a magic word capable of summoning ghosts but also a sensual and seductive one, containing both the fear and fascination for mysteries of the unknown: “If my memory does not fail me,” pursued Westmann with a cruel smile, “Anthony calls Cleopatra…” “For God’s sake, be silent!” shouted de Foxa. “Don’t speak that word aloud. It is a terrible word that must be spoken thus in a low voice…” and scarcely moving his lips, he whispered, “Culebra. Mi culebra del antiguo Nilo.”

Davide Balliano (b. 1983, Turin) studied photography at the C.F.P Riccardo Bauer, Milan. Known for his layered minimal work that straddles the line between painting and sculpture, Balliano has exhibited extensively internationally, including solo exhibitions at Tina Kim Gallery, New York (2019 & 2017); 39 Great Jones, New York (2018); Luce Gallery, Turin (2017 & 2015); Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2015); Room East, New York (2014); Rolando Anselmi Galerie, Berlin (2014 & 2012); Galerie Michael Rein, Paris (2013); Location One, New York (2011); The Artists Space, New York (2009). His group exhibitions include David Zwirner Gallery, New York (2015); Sean Kelly Gallery, New York (2014 & 2010); Madre Museum, Naples (2012); The Watermill Center, New York (2011 & 2009); MoMA PS1, New York (2010); Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castelló, Castellón, (2010). Davide Balliano lives and works in New York.

DIRIMART
Hacıahmet Mahallesi. Irmak Cad. 1-9, Dolapdere, 34440, İstanbul
dirimart.com

Inci Eviner Retrospective @ Istanbul Modern, Turkey

Inci Eviner Retrospective
Who's Inside You?
Istanbul Modern
Through 23 octobre 2016

Istanbul Modern brings together İnci Eviner’s creative process from the 1980s to the present with the retrospective “Who’s Inside You?” The İnci Eviner Retrospective reflects the development and transformation of the artist’s rich search for expression, which extends from drawing, painting, and video to installation, photography, and sculpture.

İnci Eviner is a pioneering artist who has been influential in the transformation of contemporary art in Turkey. The exhibition “Who’s Inside You?” features works she has produced over the course of nearly forty years, providing a glance not only into her rich world of imagery, but also into the changing social and political realities of the times in which the works were produced.

Eviner has developed a unique mode of expression regarding womanhood, gender, and the politics of identity in their collective, political, and sociocultural aspects. The exhibition is not presented in a strictly chronological order, but rather interweaves past and present, and even incorporates the exhibition space itself.

The press conference held at Istanbul Modern on the occasion of the exhibition’s opening was attended by the artist İnci Eviner, Chair of the Board of Istanbul Modern Oya Eczacıbaşı, Chair of Ferko Ferit Meriçten, and Istanbul Modern Director Levent Çalıkoğlu, who is also the exhibition’s curator.

İnci Eviner: I designed the exhibition in an entirely open-plan setting

Indicating that the exhibition “Who’s Inside Me?” was conceivedas a unified, immersive installation, İnci Eviner said: “This exhibition enabled me to look back. Not only did it give me the opportunity to look from a certain distance at my own story in terms of how my identity as an artist became established, but it also revealed how all of the works are linked in certain ways. I designed the presentation in an entirely open-plan setting. I wanted to create a dynamic environment that would not be presented chronologically, but would bring back into circulation visual languages that reference one another, speak to one another, and are informed by the same past although they were articulated in different ways at different times.”

Noting that the works are marked by the passage of time, Eviner added that, because she wanted to restage her works, she arranged them as if she were creating a new piece. Eviner said: “We proceeded section by section, using the accompanying texts I wrote for the series that I had done until then, and worked up a design that allows viewers to perceive the entire area as a single picture from the moment they enter the exhibition space.”

Oya Eczacıbaşı: We want to enhance the visibility of women artists in Turkey

Chair of the Board of Istanbul Modern Oya Eczacıbaşı stated that the museum continues to hold exhibitions that highlight the pioneering and critical approaches of women artists to modern and contemporary art. Eczacıbaşı said: “We are pleased to host the exhibition ‘Who’s Inside You?,’ a comprehensive retrospective of İnci Eviner, one of Turkey’s leading contemporary artists. Istanbul Modern held its first retrospective of a woman artist in 2006, when ‘Two Generations of a Rainbow’ featured a vast range of work by Fahrelnissa Zeid, a pioneer of modern art in Turkey, and by her son Nejad Melih Devrim. Five years later, we organized ‘Dream and Reality,’ an exhibition examining Turkey’s social and cultural transformation from the beginning of its modernization process to the present through the works of women artists.”

Eczacıbaşı continued: “There are several reasons why we are excited to hold this retrospective of İnci Eviner. To begin with, it is our first retrospective of a living woman artist. We believe that this approach will have an influence on many aspects of Turkey’s artistic and cultural life. Also exciting is that this retrospective marks the start of the Women Artists Fund, a new Istanbul Modern initiative to increase the output of women in the field of contemporary art and enhance their visibility in Turkey and abroad. The Women Artists Fund brings together collectors and sponsors who are concerned about art and women’s issues, and dedicated to increasing the stature and visibility of women producing art and culture in Turkey. The initiative aims to promote living women artists by expanding Istanbul Modern’s collection of new works by women and supporting the projects of women whose works have been exhibited at our museum.”

Ferit Meriçten: We create living spaces that are long-lasting, like works of art

Chair of Ferko Ferit Meriçten called attention to the high-quality, exclusive projects they deliver in Turkey and abroad, and emphasized how sustainability affects all areas of human life. Meriçten said: “Ferko has been part of the business world for twenty-five years. We are here with you today thanks to our passion for art, which is ingrained in our corporate genes. As a brand that, while expanding its business, shows sensitivity to the dynamics of the environment in which we live, we are delighted to be involved with art. When designing buildings or spaces, Ferko strives to create living environments that are inspiring, add value to people’s lives, and are long-lasting like works of art. Like art masters, we dedicate meticulous care to every detail. The most important mission of our industry is to build livable cities and include all relevant aspects when developing living spaces, from architecture to cultural structure. It is of great value to us that we, as Ferko, operate from this perspective in every project we undertake. Embracing this awareness, Ferko will continue to support the arts in the future as it does today.”

Levent Çalıkoğlu: One of the most creative and contemporary artists of her generation

The exhibition’s curator, Istanbul Modern Director Levent Çalıkoğlu, stated that in terms of the diversity of her areas of interest and research, İnci Eviner is one of the most creative and contemporary artists of her generation. Çalıkoğlu added: “The exhibition brings together an inventory that spans close to forty years and reveals the rich and profound connections Eviner establishes both within herself and with the unity of art, culture, nature, and the unconscious that makes us human. In all of her works, Eviner transforms this unity and makes it her own through a unique repertoire of images that renders her presence distinctly visible. Like all great artists, she uses ‘potentials’ that at first glance are believed not to belong to the field of art and, through a natural touch, makes them her own. She thus enables us to think and interpret them from a new imaginative perspective.”

It all began with line and drawing

Drawing is central to Eviner’s works; she defines the starting point of her practice as expressions made through lines on paper. She constantly enriches her artistic approach, strolling through a boundless visual language ranging from art historical allegories, iconographies, illustrations, and mythologies to contemporary ideograms and pictograms.

Timeless works

Weaving together the violence at the heart of the beautiful, the potential of the repressed, and the unmatched creativity of the unconscious, Eviner’s works are simultaneously contemporary and timeless. The artist investigates the historical, discursive, and unconscious processes that influence our views of female identity starting in childhood. By defining womanhood as a field of limitless possibility that does not fit into a single image, the artist challenges the representational forms typically deemed appropriate for women and the restrictions that led to the emergence of these representations.

The retrospective "Who’s Inside You?” provides opportunities to see, for the first time ever, several works the artist created following her graduation from the Academy that could not be exhibited at the time due to physical and political conditions. Also featured in the exhibition are very recent works, produced this year.

Sponsored by Ferko, a firm notable for delivering quality and exclusive projects both in Turkey and abroad, the exhibition is on view in Istanbul Modern’s temporary exhibition hall through October 23, 2016.

About İnci Eviner

İnci Eviner has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world as well as the biennials in Istanbul, Venice, Taiwan, Thessaloniki, Shanghai, andPusan. Her works have been shown at the Drawing Center, New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna; the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; and Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, France. Eviner was born in 1956 in Ankara and lives and works in Istanbul.

Exhibition catalogue

Published bilingually in Turkish and English, the exhibition catalogue includes texts about and images of the works in the exhibition, an essay by Levent Çalıkoğlu on the conceptual framework of the exhibition, Sara Raza’s essay “İnci Eviner: On the Practice and Performance of Drawing,” and Rana Öztürk’s interview with the artist entitled “Choreography of Flowing Images.”

In addition to the exhibition catalogue, the Istanbul Modern Store also features a selection of designers’ products.

ISTANBUL MODERN
www.istanbulmodern.org

New Art Fair in Istanbul, Turkey, 2013

All Arts Istanbul, New Art Fair in Turkey

A brand new art fair was founded in Istanbul, Turkey: ALL ARTS ISTANBUL that will take place for the first time from 18 to 21 April 2013 at the Istanbul Convention Center in Harbiye, Taşkışla Street. The new Turkish art fair will offer art enthusiasts a wide array of works, ranging from Turkish and Ottoman traditional arts to antiques, from modern to contemporary art. In addition to a variety of artworks from Turkey, Middle East and North Africa, antiques and contemporary art will be presented side by side by galleries, art institutions and auction houses in addition to second-hand booksellers, artisans, craftsmen and antique dealers. With a comprehensive approach to art, All Arts Istanbul aims to serve as the nexus point in Turkey for people and institutions who invest in art and art objects. The fair will offer participants many programs to choose from, including visits to artist's studios, guided tours of museums and private collections, seminars, conferences and workshops.

Group photograph of All Arts Istambul's Advisory Board

The Advisory Board for All Arts Istanbul was created with key figures from the art world and member from the organizations sponsoring the new Turkish art fair. 

All Arts Istanbul Advisory Board Meeting, 10th December 2012

The first comprehensive meeting of the fair took place last december, and the names of the members of  the Advisory Board are as follows:

Prof. Dr. Nurhan Atasoy, Turkish Cultural Foundation

Beşir Ayvazoğlu, Zaman, Columnist

Beyhan Bağış, Anatoli, Chairman

Doç. Dr. Emin Mahir Balcıoğlu, Qatar Museums Authority, Project Director

Faruk Bayrak, Everest Publishing, Chairman

Ahmet Benli, Galérie Benli

Tayfun Demirören, Demirören Holding, Executive Board Member

Uğur Derman, Türk Petrol Foundation, Executive Board Member

Haldun Dostoğlu, Galeri Nev

Doç. Dr. Ahmet Halûk Dursun, Topkapı Palace, Museum Director

Levent Erden, Havas World Wide Turkey, CEO

Dr. M. Sinan Genim, Architect

Remzi Gür, Gürmen Group, Chairman

Ali Güreli, All Arts Istanbul, Chairman

Prof. Dr. Gül İrepoğlu, Art Historian, Architect

Prof. Dr. Mustafa İsen, General Secretary of the Presidency

Yusuf İyilik, Yön Group, Chairman

Prof. Dr. Hasan Bülent Kahraman, All Arts Istanbul, General Coordinator

Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan, Baksı Museum, Founder

Fehmi Koru, Star, Columnist

Doç. Dr. Nazan Ölçer, Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Director

Ömer Faruk Şerifoğlu, Advisor to the Private Collection of the Presidency

Jale Tantekin, Tantekin Antiques

Cumhur Güven Taşbaşı, The Director General for Promotion of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Doç. Dr. Gülname Turan, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty Member

Necla Zarakol, Zarakol Communication, Chairman

ALI GURELI

Ali Güreli, the President of the Board of All Arts Istanbul said: '' Istanbul is becoming one of the most important contemporary art centers in the world, and the Biennial as well as the Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, which has taken place for the 7th time in 2012, are strong contributors of this development.'' He also called attention to the private sector’s piqued interest in art, saying “Interesting and important exhibitions took place in Istanbul in recent years, the likes of which had never been executed in Turkey before. After developing its contemporary art scene, Istanbul will expand its cultural, economic and touristic boundaries further with ''All Arts Istanbul Fair''. Intense interest in the traditional arts, the need for investment in art as a tool of of modernization, today is quite tangible in these fields even beyond the known names. All Arts Istanbul will contribute greatly to the city, culture and art.”

HASAN BULENT KAHRAMAN

General Coordinator of All Arts Istanbul, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bülent Kahraman also said: "All Arts Istanbul will create a platform for traditional, exemplary art works that are produced in Turkey, that are neither marketed nor promoted to the fullest outside the scope of auctions and some limited networks. Collectors who have so far presented their accumulations only in auctions, will be given a chance to present, promote and if the occasion arises, sell their valuable objects, and the fair will create an opportunity to enrich and transform existing collections. The fair will be a platform where buyers and sellers will be able to come together in a highly contemporary  setting and an attractive setup."

Website: www.allartsistanbul.com

Abstraction at Istanbul Biennial 2011

Istanbul Biennial Group Exhibition: Untitled (Abstraction)  Lygia Clark, Charlotte Posenenske, Theo Craveiro, Cevdet Erek, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

The exhibition Untitled (Abstraction) is inspired by Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s “Untitled” (Bloodwork—Steady Decline) (1994). This minimalist piece, a drawing of a grid with a diagonal line reaching from the top-left corner to the lower-right corner, represents the gradually failing immune system of a patient with HIV. This group exhibition gathers works that subvert pure abstraction and the high-modernist grid by bringing in political and bodily themes.

LYGIA CLARK

Crab Beast (Bicho Caranguejo), 1960

Aluminum

30 x 16 x 1 cm

Courtesy the Cultural Association “The World of Lygia Clark”

Photograph: Nuno Franco de Souza

In her proposals, the Brazilian artist LYGIA CLARK (Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 1920-1988, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) anticipated the Untitled (Abstraction) theme. The sculpture series Bicho (Beast) made with hinged sheets of aluminum, which Lygia Clark began to work on in 1959, strongly exhibits the artist’s anxiety toward form and her radical views on the social role of art. The Bicho (Beast) that is presented in the Istanbul Biennial create a multisensory experience, turning the viewer into an active participant.

CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE

Square tubes, from the series DW, 1986

Corrugated cardboard

152 x 107 x 30 cm

Central Station Frankfurt a.M. 1989 

Courtesy estate (Burkhard Brunn) 

Photography: Burkhard Brunn

In close proximity to Lygia Clark are the DW (1967) sculptures made by the German artist CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE (Wiesbaden, Germany, 1930-1985, Frankfurt, Germany). Made of corrugated cardboard in abstract geometric shapes, they are exhibited differently every week.

THEO CRAVEIRO

Formicary—Visible Idea [Formigueiro―Idéia Visível], 1956/2010

100 x 100 x 15 cm

Courtesy the artist

The young Brazilian artist THEO CRAVEIRO (born in 1983 in Sao Paulo, lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil) decided to create a new system to question whether art has a system or not. Formigueiro—Ideia Visivel (Formicary—Visible Idea, 1956/2010) departs from a key historical painting Idéia Visivel (Visible Idea, 1956) from the Brazilian concrete period by Waldemar Cordeiro, appropriating the design of its black grid over a white background as a glass wall relief containing a living ant farm.

CEVDET EREK

Sounding Dot, 2010

Mono sound, loudspeaker, amplifier, CD player, and paint, 1:24 min.

60 x 60 x 0.4 cm

Courtesy of the artist and Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria 

From Sky Ornamentation with 3 Sounding Dots and Anti-Pigeon Net (So3sdapn) commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria and Vehbi Koç Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey

CEVDET EREK (born 1974, Istanbul, lives and works in Istanbul) Anti-Pigeon Net (2010) grew out of an installation he made at the courtyard of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in Vienna, using anti-pigeon netting and sound. The abstract grid calls forth cleanliness and sanitization, through a scatological counter-reference.

180 Seconds of Lasting Images (2006) by the Beirut-based artists JOANA HADJITHOMAS and KHALIL JOREIGE appears to be a large-scale white monochrome structure, but it is actually composed of 4500 photographs, which upon closer inspection reveal themselves as movie fragments in which some figures can be discerned. The material was developed from a film that belonged to Joreige’s uncle, which the artists found 16 years after the uncle’s kidnapping (he is still missing) during the Lebanese Civil War in 1985. They produced the video by printing every frame of the movie.

See also our previous post: Istanbul Bienniale overview
Find detailed information about this group exhibition at bienal.iksv.org

Istanbul Biennial 2011 Overview

12th ISTANBUL BIENNIAL 2011

Through November 13, 2011

The 12th Istanbul Biennial opens its doors to art lovers on September 17, 2011 and remain on view until November 13, 2011. Istambul Biennial 2011 is transforming Istanbul into an art platform.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial, ranked among the most important European art events of this year along with the Venice Biennale,is realized under the curatorship of Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann. The title is Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011.

2011 Istambul Biennial is composed of five group exhibitions and more than 50 solo exhibitions, with a total of more than 500 works. The venue is Antrepo 3 and 5.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial opened its doors to press on September 15, with an official opening ceremony and a press conference. Bülent Eczacıbaşı, chairman of the board of İKSV, gave the opening speech of the ceremony. He said:

“The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts organized the first Istanbul Biennial in 1987. Since then, Istanbul and the biennial have grown, evolved, and gained prominence in concert with one another. The biennial has contributed to the development of Istanbul as a capital of culture and the arts, and Istanbul has received the biennial with open arms, continually renewing the energy of this event with its rich history, contemporary dynamism, and potential. In 1999, the biennial reached 40 thousand people; in 2009 more than 100,000 art enthusiasts attended the biennial and its related events. At the beginning of the 2000s, the number of private museums in our city could be counted on one hand; now we count them by the dozens. Moreover, the number of exhibitions taking place in Istanbul, home to more than 100 art galleries, is rising steadily every year. This increase in the production and consumption of art over the last decade fills us with hope for what we can achieve in the decade ahead. In 2023, when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, Turkey aims to be one of the world’s top 10 economies. Our hope is that our cultural industry enjoys a share of this targeted economic growth. A society that reads more books, visits more exhibitions, goes to more concerts and increases its involvement in art and culture activities is a society that will achieve all kinds of targets more easily and quickly.”

Mustafa V. Koç, chairman of the board of Koç Holding, also spoke at the official opening ceremony and press conference on behalf of Koç Holding, which has undertaken the sponsorship of the Istanbul Biennial through 2016.

The official opening ceremony of the 12th Istanbul Biennial was presented by Defne Halman. Thank-you plaques for their contributions to the biennial were given to the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey; the pioneer sponsor of İKSV, Eczacıbaşı Holding; the official airline, Turkish Airlines; the official communication sponsor, Vodafone; the official carrier, DHL Express; Özsoy İnşaat AŞ for the implementation of the architectural design; the theme sponsors Hitay Yatırım Holding AŞ and Zorlu Center; and Istanbul Biennial Sponsor Koç Holding. The plaques were presented by Bülent Eczacıbaşı, chairman of the board of İKSV.

After the press conference, curators Jens Hoffmann and Adriano Pedrosa spoke, together with Istanbul Biennial Director Bige Örer, and the curators guided a tour of the biennial exhibition. The biennial artists were present with their work during the press visit.

Besides famous names from the art and business world, more than 4,000 guests, including critics, curators, museum and gallery administrators from international art communities, and up to 400 press members from 50 countries participated in the press conference.

THE TITLE OF THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL:
Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011

The visual identity and the title of the 12th Istanbul Biennial—Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011—reference the work of the Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996), one of the most important artists of the contemporary era.

During his life, Gonzalez-Torres exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions internationally, including the 5th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Rosa Martínez. His innovative artistic language was a source of inspiration for the researches conducted for the 12th Istanbul Biennial. But, although his presence is felt in the biennial’s title, themes, and visual identity, none of his works will be exhibited in the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

The curators of the 12th Istanbul Biennial, to remain in line with Gonzalez-Torres’s idea of “Untitled”, developed a critical position toward preconceived notions of the exhibition and did not declare the list of participating artists until the opening. Thus they proposed to prevent any possible pre-consumption of the exhibition. The 12th Istanbul Biennial aims to draw attention to the importance of the exhibition, the primary format of artistic and curatorial expression, in response to the mentality today favoring ancillary events and programming, especially in a biennial context. The biennial is precisely installed in a single, carefully constructed space, Antrepo 3 and 5, in a manner that privileges the display and juxtaposition of the artworks.

THE VENUE OF 2011 ISTANBUL BIENNIAL HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY THE ARCHITECT RYUE NISHIZAWA

RYUE NISHIZAWA PORTRAIT 

Photograph by Nishizwa Takashi Okamoto

The exhibition venue of the 12th Istanbul Biennial is Antrepo 3 and 5, which has hosted the biennial several times since the 4th Istanbul Biennial. The architectural design Office of Ryue Nishizawa transformed the site, dramatically, using steel and drywall constructions to create different-size rooms. During the design process, which started in September 2010, Ryue Nishizawa developed a method to allow visitors to immediately differentiate between the group exhibitions and the solo presentations. The group exhibitions’ walls are painted gray, while the solo presentations’ walls are painted white.

RYUE NISHIZAWA, although still in his 40s, is acknowledged as one of the most important architects in the world today. He founded SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) in 1995 with the architect Kazuyo Sejima. He has maintained the Office of Ryue Nishizawa since 1997. SANAA has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Golden Lion Award of the Venice Architecture Biennial. The firm’s projects have included the New Museum of Contemporary Art (2007) in New York, USA; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (2004) in Kanazawa, Japan; and boutiques of Christian Dior and Prada in Japan.

THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL THEMES

The five group exhibitions of the 12th Istanbul Biennial are titled Untitled (Abstraction), “Untitled” (Ross), “Untitled” (Passport), Untitled (History), and “Untitled” (Death by Gun). Each departs from a specific work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. More than 50 solo presentations carry further the discussions broached by the group exhibitions.

SPONSORS OF THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL

For the 12th Istanbul Biennial, Koç Holding continues its biennial sponsorship, which started in 2007 and encompasses five biennials. Zorlu Center and Hitay Yatırım Holding AŞ contribute as theme sponsors. Arçelik AŞ, Divan İstanbul, Polisan Boya Sanayi, and Ticaret AŞ take part as institutions contributing to the biennial.

Many international institutions, especially The Ford Foundation, the US Department of State, Mondriaan Foundation, British Council, The Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs highly contribute to the achievement of the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

The Biennial Companion publication of the 12th Istanbul Biennial includes interviews between the curators and the artists, full explanations of the themes, and full-color photographs. The Biennial Catalogue publication includes texts focusing on the subjects of the exhibition and visuals from the installation. Both are published by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and Yapı Kredi Publishing with the contribution of Vehbi Koç Foundation.

Besides these contributing institutions, Banvit AŞ, Canan Pak, Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AŞ, Grupanya İnternet Hizmetleri İletişim Organizasyon Tanıtım ve Pazarlama AŞ, Koçtaş, Polimeks Holding, Sema-Barbaros Çağa, Tekfen Eğitim Sağlık Kültür Sanat ve Doğa Varlıkları Koruma Vakfı, Türk Henkel AŞ, and United Colors of Benetton contribute to the biennial as special projects sponsors.

In addition to the institutions stated above, the 12th Istanbul Biennial is realized with the contribution of 21 leading business institutions as biennial supporters.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial is supported by the Promotion Fund of the Prime Ministry and the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and the Beyoğlu Municipality.

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts official sponsors are leading sponsor Eczacıbaşı Holding; official airline Turkish Airlines; official communication sponsor Vodafone; and official carrier DHL Express. Jon Sueda from Stripe has undertaken the publicity campaign and publications of the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

 ISTANBUL BIENAL 2011
 www.bienal.iksv.org

Video Art Exhibition – Istanbul Modern

The selection of video art works by Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazil), Jacco Olivier (The Netherlands) and Jennifer Steinkamp (USA) shows how some contemporary artists use new technologies to bring painting beyond its classical limits. Thanks to the wide possibilities of projections and computer animations, the traditional genres of landscape and portrait gain movement and change shape, perspective or colour. Through the interaction with sound and architecture, painting abandons its static character, expands from the bounds of the canvas and explores new conceptual and aesthetical territories. 

JACCO OLIVIER (Goes, The Netherlands, b. 1972)

Jacco Olivier has recently created a series of “Moving Pictures” that bring the classical horizons of painting into new areas of technical development and visual pleasure. Jacco Olivier departs from modern painting and he creates a series of pictures with abstract or figurative landscapes. He photographs and films these fragments to produce vivid and poetic animations. Landscapes and human figures become abstract compositions while abstract forms become suddenly figures and real things. These visual narratives are humorous and casual reflections on our world. Their meaning is enhanced by the interconnection of the images and the sound tracks. 

JENNIFER STEINKAMP (Denver, USA, b. 1958)

Jennifer Steinkamp uses computer animation to create virtual forms that provoke new perceptions of the architectural spaces where they are projected. Eye Catching 5 shows the image of a young tree in motion. The foliage, the branches and the trunk bow down, stretch up and rotate smoothly. This image belongs to a series of trees that were specifically created for the Yerebatan Cistern in 2003 during the 8th International Istanbul Biennial. Creating simulated images of fake natural elements and exploring the notions of gravity, turbulence and wind, Steinkamp provides a fascinating and non-narrative visual experience. Her projections bring painting beyond its classical limits. She reinvents the forms of nature, dematerialises the space and produces complex interactions between the viewer and the artwork. 

RIVANE NEUENSCHWANDER (Belo Horizonte, Brazil, b. 1967)

The artist Rivane Neuenschwander connects science and language in order to reinscribe culture into nature. Love Lettering is a video made with her brother, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt. Words taken from love letters were cut out and attached to the tails of red-orange fish in an aquarium. The trajectories of the undulating fish compose disconnected or intensified combinations of meanings: “Late – wish – hotel”… “your - talking", and so on. This film includes the perspective of two readers: the real, intended recipient of the original letter and the viewer who sees it recomposed by chance. Combining formal systems with organic forces, Rivane Neuenschwander proposes a new balance between art and nature... Her art suggests that destiny can be changed by interfering through simple means, like writing or tearing a love letter, with the flow of what seems predetermined.

This video art exhibition was curated by Rosa Martinez.

ISTANBUL MODERN
16 April - 25 August 2005