Modern Sculpture - Memory and Scale

Istanbul Modern aims to shine a light on the history of Modern Turkish sculpture with an exhibition that has never been created in Turkey up to date. The exhibition, which covers a historical period in depth, acquires characteristics that will ensure Istanbul Modern to approach its mission for modern museology one step further.

Turkish sculpture provides us the important opportunity of expressing Turkey’s modernization. Developing parallel to painting since the beginning of 1950s, abstract sculpture took avant-garde steps towards an understanding of the current developments around the world.

A generation trained up by two professional artists Ali Hadi Bara and Zühtü Müridog˘lu, not only opened important exhibitions both in Europe and Turkey but also created unique works which led to achievements in Turkish sculpture.

In addition, an exhibition demonstrating the achievement of Modern Turkish sculpture with its first examples created in the 50s as well as positioning the existence of sculpture in the period’s socio-cultural structure and that describes its development throughout the years with the best examples has not been organized yet. Besides, neither archives of works created in that period nor a data bank have been formed.

The exhibition we are planning to organize in the museum aims to place this period on record and introduce it to a wide range of audience.

The exhibition which will be installed in a historical and chronological manner will bring together the conceptual and implementative differences in a period of 50 years. The works of both today’s artists and the ones who are no longer alive will be exhibited. The exhibition is composed of artists who did not only contribute to the historical formation of sculpture in Turkey but also possess the quality of being pioneers with regard to their historical placement, and therefore will transform into an official parade of Turkish sculpture.

Setting off with the aim of introducing the journey of Modern Turkish sculpture and analyzing the evolution, the exhibition intends to bring together the masterpieces and the works that are representative of the 15 artists who work with the materials of metal, stone, wood, and bronze while making the modern analysis of sculpture with a perception of the interrelations between mass-space-form since the 1950s. For this purpose, meetings with the successors and families of artists who are no longer alive anymore like Ali Hadi Bara, S¸adi Çalık, and I˙lhan Koman will be made; and the living artists will be contacted personally in request for their most characteristic works to be exhibited.

There has not been a sculpture exhibition in this scope until today. For that reason, it will be necessary to prepare a publication describing the stages of Modern Turkish sculpture’s development.

Artists in the exhibitions: Ali Hadi Bara (1906-1971), Zühtü Müridog˘lu (1906-1992), S¸adi Çalık (1917-1984), I˙lhan Koman (1923-1986), Kuzgun Acar (1928-1976), Ali Teoman Germaner (1934), Saim Bugay (1934), Mehmet Aksoy (1939), Seyhun Topuz (1942), Meriç Hızal (1943), Ferit Özs¸en (1943), Koray Aris¸ (1944), Osman Dinç (1948), Azade Köker (1949), Rahmi Aksungur (1955).

Pressetext

Modern Sculpture - Memory and Scale

mit Ali Hadi Bara, Zühtü Müridoglu, Sadi Calik, Ilhan Koman, Kuzgun Acar, Ali Teoman Germaner, Saim Bugay, Mehmet Aksoy, Seyhun Topuz, Meric Hizal, Ferit Özsen, Koray Aris, Osman Dinc, Azade Köker, Rahmi Aksungur