Selections I
Past exhibition
Overview
The increase in production resources and the societal changes mankind underwent as a result of the Industrial Revolution caused overt changes in art just as it did with every other facet of life. The dazzling leaps in the fields of science and technology that emerged at an increasing speed – in the 20th century especially – as well as the changes and sociopolitical developments of this period directly affected artists and their production as much as it did society as a whole. Emerging in the 1960s and enduring today, contemporary art heavily focuses on the subjects of globalization, the environment, technology, identity, and class; with each artist differing greatly in terms of their production methods, thus comprising a movement wherein art finds a more liberated form that is more subjective. This process, in which nearly all traditionalist rules are ignored at the conceptual level, led to artistic production with a never-before-seen level of variety due to a liberal perspective and the substantiality and abundance of subjects, no doubt assisted by the brand-new materials provided to us by new technologies.
As the first exhibition of the new year, “Selections” focuses on this concept of variety. The exhibition will unfold over two stages and continue until April. The first part, titled “Selections I”, features Galeri 77 artists Narek Arzumanyan, Roman Babakhanian, Berkay Buğdan, Robin Şeyhmus Çoban, Vahram Davtian, Sedat Girgin, Armen Hakobjanyan, Vav Hakobyan, Mesut Karakış, Daron Mouradian, Ani Qananyan, Armén Rotch, Kirkor Sahakoğlu, Evgenia Saré, Tigran Tsitoghdzyan and Halil Sercan Tunalı, bringing their exciting works of various styles, expressions, and techniques together in a selection that aims to provide a different, colorful, and enjoyable experience for the viewers.
Using the multilayered painting method of the Old Masters, Daron Mouradian, Vahram Davtian and Evgenia Saré create surreal compositions that carry us beyond time and space, unlocking the door to worlds the keys to which only they themselves possess. With their hyperrealistic works that unite photography with painting, Tigran Tsitoghdzyan and Roman Babakhanian allow us to observe the effect of tiny nuances in light and shadow on the artwork as a whole. Using unorthodox materials and fresh reinterpretations of contemporary techniques, the near-experimental works of Berkay Buğdan, Armen Hakobjanyan, Mesut Karakış and Armén Rotch carry touches of minimalism and let us experience the limits of art that are only within reach through different approaches. Rejecting all traditional rules of painting, the works of Vav Hakobyan, Narek Arzumanyan and Sedat Girgin completely distance their figures from reality, completely deforming them to better express their states of emotion, taking us on a ride through a strange, colorful and uncanny world of imagination. With their naïve approach, Halil Sercan Tunalı’s works aim to create a new artistic alphabet through symbols, inviting us to reconsider the issues of the modern world through a different perspective. A new addition to the Galeri 77 portfolio, the sculptor Robin Şeyhmus Çoban’s works focus on individuals’ efforts to adapt, resist, and compromise in the face of the societal and political issues of an increasingly globalized world and the pressure for change/transformation brought on by modernity. Ani Qananyan depicts nature as she views it in her paintings and white clay ceramic artworks, while Kirkor Sahakoğlu’s works of magnificent depth set out from his own life and feelings to just about call on us to consider the unseen. Both artists lead us on a search for hints of the external world’s reflections within ourselves.
Installation Views
