TURQUOISE

Funda Alkan, Sibel Horada, Gül Ilgaz

embroidery, installation, photos

2 – 30 September 2012

On the occasion of the 400 anniversary of diplomatic ties between Turkey and The Netherlands Gallery Maurits van de Laar shows work of three Turkish artists of Daire Gallery, Istanbul.
In December 2010 Gallery Maurits van de Laar’s artists Seekee Chung, Ed Pien, Zeger Reijers and Justin Wijers were hosted by Daire Gallery in Istanbul.

The idealized images of women imposed upon us by the media and commercial advertising is a recurring theme in the work of Funda Alkan (1985). For some time now she has been working on a series of classic Hollywood movie stars such as Vivien Leigh and Ginger Rogers. She embroiders their portraits on canvas in a dotted pattern reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein’s paintings. The traditional craft of embroidery poses an almost ironic contrast to the glitz and glamour of the moviestar world. 

Sibel Horada (1980) shows the work Urban Knights: a series of 80 slides of chairs and benches that she photographed between 2007 and 2010 in the streets of Istanbul. Also on show is her work Continuous Monument which consists of a strand of her own hair which she extends regularly so the work keeps growing. Photographer and video artist Gül Ilgaz (1962) shows photos in which water plays an important part. In Out of the Blue a woman and a man float above each other, Being Held shows the hands of a man and woman grabbing each other by their wrists under water. The image is both tender and alarming, is this an embrace or a life saving action? Three recent photos have a similar duality: the serene image of a woman looking out over the sea is disturbed by the stone that is thrown close past her head.

Daire Gallery and Gallery Maurits van de Laar thank the Office for Culture and Promotion of Turkey for supporting the exhibition.