Artweeks Akaretler has been met with a great deal of interest since its opening. It is possible to say that the backyards of Sıraevler (after corona), which were filled with more visitors than expected, especially during the VIP opening, were an indication of the longing for art-filled events. As far as I observe, this intense interest is quite welcomed by art galleries and artists. A total of 26 galleries including Vision Art, Anna Laudel, Galeri Nev, Mine Art Gallery, Öktem Aykut, PI Artworks, Merkür, Pilevneli, Büyükdere35, The Pill, Sanatorium hosted the seventh edition of Artweeks Akaretler.
In Artweeks Akaretler, which we entered by showing the QR codes, one of the elements that attracted my attention the most while walking around the gallery spaces was the way the artist names were shared with the audience.
Do our eyes go to the work first or to the name of the artist written right next to it? Actually, this is an important issue in our perception while looking at the work. Each gallery has brought a different approach to this. Some galleries have written the names on the floor instead of right next to the works; some have put a QR code without writing it at all; some have shared it in a list; some have shared the name of the artist right next to the work. Since catalogs are no longer printed, QR codes have become a common feature and are very popular. In today’s virtual world, the QR code has become a part of the exhibition and allows us to access more information about the gallery, the work or the artist more quickly.
Speaking of QR codes and artworks, let’s start with Pilevneli Gallery as the gallery that uses the most QR codes. Pilevneli Gallery presents a selection of local and foreign artists such as Ali Elmacı, Tarık Töre, Refik Anadol, Frank Nitche, Arık Levy, Nevin Aladağ, Hans Op de Beeck. Ali Elmacı’s dog portraits titled “One for All, All for One” greet you as you climb the stairs. When you enter the exhibition area, Refik Anadol’s artificial intelligence data painting titled “Renaissance Dreams” attracts your attention. Continuing on, one of my favorite artists Hans Op de Beeck’s “Girl, asleep” is quite interesting. The artist has worked with Marianne Boesky Gallery in the past as part of Frieze Art Fair and made a name for himself with his installation ‘The Silent Library’ (2016), which occupied the entire gallery space. Hans Op de Beeck’s work is a reflection on our complex society and the universal questions of meaning and mortality that resonate within it. He sees man as a being who tragicomically stages the world around him. Above all, he is keen to stir the viewer’s emotions and invite them to truly experience the image. The sculpture “Girl, asleep” and the watercolor painting “Snow Landscape”, which offer a moment of wonder and silence, creating a form of visual fiction, meet us at Pilevneli.
In addition to Pilevneli Gallery, Pi Artworks, Merkür, Ferda Art Platform and Martch Art Project are located in buildings A37 and A39. Pi Artworks presents a selection of works by Özer Toraman and Nancy Atakan. Especially Nancy Atakan’s works are delightful works that emphasize the importance of time, which we all question in our daily lives. At Merkür, we are welcomed with works by Selma Gürbüz and continue with works by Burcu Perçin, Yusuf Aygeç and Saliha Yılmaz.
In building A15, there are Öktem Aykut, x-ist and Ambidexter. Öktem Aykut’s selection includes names like Melis Ağazat and Renee Levi. Renee Levi’s works question color, application and paint, and her way of exhibition gives new meanings to the relationship between painting and space.
Building A19 houses Galeri Nev, Anna Laudel and Galeri Bosfor. Anna Laudel presents works by Mehmet Sinan Kuran, Ramazan Can, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Belkıs Balpınar and Lal Batman.
At Galeri Nev, there are works by Murat Morova, Tayfun Erdoğmuş and Esra Özdoğan.
Building A17 houses Art On, Mercado and Mine Art galleries. Mercado presents Esk Reyn with his exhibition ‘Urbanspaces’. Max On brings together Duty and Gamze Yalçın, while Mine Art gallery brings together artists such as Ferhat Özgür, Deniz Pireci, Merih Demirkol, Zuhal Baysar, Nadide Akdeniz and Cins.
Building A35 greets the audience with Vision Art Platform’s remarkable new group exhibition ‘Remedy for The Soul’, organized in parallel with Artweeks Akaretler. Mert Acar, Pınar Akkut, Deniz Avşar, Sefa Çakır, Semih Zeki, Tayfun Serttaş, Mehmet Öğüt, among others, take part in the exhibition independently. While reading the digital exhibition catalog, which you can also obtain via QR code, the works in the exhibition flash before your eyes. I recommend you to read the catalog. The following lines in particular stuck in my mind “While some emotions and ideas can only exist as a line in the work, others carry them to the third dimension. Some of them do not stay still and move, some of them are just a voice that makes us think of creating a feeling. At the end of the day, there is a single focal point for all of us. The work is a solution, a remedy, a healing for its own soul, with its own self, independent of people and interpretations.”
Sefa Çakır’s sculpture “Deformation – Home”, which he created in connection with his works “Laotang” and “Deformation” – just like his paper works – reveals his naivety and strong expression in his works, both with his choice of material and his idea. Another Vision artist Mert Acar has a series of photography and video works focusing on liminal spaces hidden between urban and rural. In short, as it is said in the catalog, the works have created an exhibition that shows its own light and sheds light on our path.
Building A55 houses Gallery 77, The Empire Project and Sanatorium. If we talk about Sanatorium, Mehmet Dere’s “Ressentiment (Again)” is a sociological and political reading of his 2011 work of the same name. The political reading of the work opens up for discussion the social production of art, the cultural structure of the society in which we live, aesthetics, form and the originality of art.
Building A57 is home to The Pill, Versus and Mixer. Mixer features the works of Merve Dündar, whose exhibition “A Wave in the Mind” is currently on view, while at The Pill it is possible to see works by Özlem Altın, Louis Gary, Leyla Gediz, Fırat Itmeç and Mireille Blanc.
Büyükdere35, located in building B22, has again brought together many artists. The exhibition includes works by Kerem Ağralı, Bengisu Bayrak, Gamze Yalçın, Sefa Çatuk, Tuba Geçgel and expressionist artist Eser Gündüz. At Difo Art, located in the same building, you can see Diasec works by İzzet Keribar, Murat Germen, Seçkin Cebeci and others.
Opening its doors on November 2, Artweeks Akaretler will continue until November 13 with its seventh edition. I am eagerly waiting to see what kind of visitor numbers Artweeks, which has been met with great interest since the day it started and continues at full speed, will reach at the closing. Beyond the numbers, I can say that it was a very inspiring and impressive event for me. What do you think?
