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Pi Artworks Istanbul presents Kemal Seyhan’s solo exhibition Untitled / Poetics of Inner Space. In addition to the artist’s paintings, new sculptures are exhibited for the first time, being produced with materials Seyhan never used before.
Kemal Seyhan always had a collaborative approach in his art practice, dialoguing with writers, poets and philosophers. The exhibition’s starting point is based on theories by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard. Since the 1980s, Seyhan has been developing works on an abstract language that is distant from any narrative elements. This exhibition represents an exploration of his forty-year artist practice, showing the different aspects of it. Looking at the concept of “space”, he aimed to construct a bridge between the inside and the outside world. Since his early years as a student in Vienna, he has been working around the idea of space, positioning the viewer into a shell that overlooks the different worlds.
Throughout the exhibition, the spatial feature is observed both physically and emotionally, like a cell membrane that opens up new visual experiences for the audience. The beginning and the end of the imaginary universe that Seyhan created can’t be defined. The artist pushes the limits of different aesthetic experiments, designing an area that can be accessed through imagination, and at the same time challenging viewers to define this area as a definite whole.
Artist:
Kemal Seyhan (1960), Recent exhibitions; Syntax (solo) Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany, (2017); Freundschaftsspiel Istanbul: Freiburg, Museum for Modern Art Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany (2016); Ondas Negras (solo), GPLSpaceVI, Vienna, Austria (2015); 41 Meter (solo), Zorlu Center, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); Sieben Grenzgänge, House Wittgenstein, Vienna, Austria (2011); Kemal Seyhan (solo), Cora Hölzl Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany (2010). Major collections include: Ferdinandeum, Tiroler State Museum, Innsbruck, Austria; Arch Driend Collection, Vienna, Austria; Die Roland Madesta, Nürnberg, Austria; Istanbul Modern Museum, Turkey; Museum Evliyagil, Ankara, Turkey.
About Pi Artworks
Pi Artworks London/Istanbul was founded in Istanbul in 1998. In 2013, it expanded internationally and opened a space on Eastcastle Street, Fitzrovia, London. Pi Artworks continues to be one of Turkey’s primary galleries and has now established a strong commercial market in London, as well as a range of institutional links in the past 5 years. Since opening the second, London venue, Pi Artworks has worked to enrich the UK art scene with their knowledge and has developed relationships with institutions, individuals and partners both within the capital and across the country.
The gallery has helped realise major institutional exhibitions in the UK such as Susan Hefuna at The Whitworth, Manchester (2017) and Ipek Duben at Fabrica, Brighton (2017). Meanwhile, it continues to forge a global path with exhibitions realised including Tayeba Begum Lipi at the Broad Museum (2016), Fatma Bucak’s upcoming show in Fondazione Merz (2018) and in collaboration with the Sonje Center on Fahrettin Orenli’s solo presentation Money without Nationality (2018).
Pi Artworks has initiated collaborations with universities and academics in London and beyond in the past 5 years, including a long-running Curatorial Open, arranged with the University of Goldsmiths (UAL) and which includes exhibition making, performances and curatorial guidance for aspiring art world employees studying in the capital. Pi Artworks has also commissioned a rich and varied range of new exhibitions in London - including a series initiated by curators such as Sacha Craddock, Oliver Sumner and Morgan Quaintance.
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Pi Artworks continues to forge key relationships across the region and globally, working with institutions, arts festivals and biennials. A recent success has been the 2017 Istanbul Biennial, where the gallery’s artist Volkan Aslan’s presentation was lauded by visitors, the media and collectors. Pi Artworks is also one of three stakeholders who have recently created a brand-new exhibition space for Istanbul, encouraging a high footfall in a slowing market, with a fresh space for contemporary art in the city and region.
Founder and Director Jade Y. Turanli is based in London and currently sits on the Contemporary Istanbul selection committee and has been on the Tate Middle-East Acquisitions Committee since 2013. Turanli is also a member of AWITA, association of Women in the Arts.
Mumhane Caddesi No:50/3
34425 Karakoy, Istanbul - TURKEY
info@piartworks.com
Opening hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10 am - 7 pm
