Podcast
Arter: the memory lane of Turkish contemporary art
The contemporary art venue Arter moved to a new building with an inaugural program featuring four exhibitions drawn from its own collection as well as other exhibitions presenting the icons of Turkey's contemporary art scene.
Arter, the flagship of Turkey's second wave of private art museums, was opened three weeks ago with seven exhibitions. While the founders do not refer to it as such, we shall treat Arter as a museum.
As a contemporary art museum venue, the inaugural program features four exhibitions drawn from its own collection and other exhibitions highlighting the masters of Turkish contemporary art. Regarded as a pioneer of Turkey's contemporary art scene, Altan Gürman met with some of his viewers in Arter. The internationally-acclaimed artist Ayşe Erkmen and İnci Furni from younger generations hold individual exhibitions. International artists Celeste Boursier-Mougenot and Rosa Barba also each have one special work exhibited.
One of the group exhibitions, prepared by Selen Ansen and named "Words Are Very Unnecessary" is showcased on the first floor. Most of the exhibition's 42 artists are foreign and the international selection process has attracted visitors.
The museum's main exhibition "What Time Is It?" is curated by Emre Baykal and Eda Berkmen. The exhibition includes 44 works by 34 artists that were drawn from the Arter collection which totals 1350 works that have been collected since 2007. "What Time Is It?" brings together works that invite viewers to contemplate the concepts of time, space and memory.
With "What Time Is It?" at its center, one can say Arter has created a memory-themed venue. It is the memory lane of Turkish contemporary art. It seems as if all the works that were imprinted in our memories for the past 25 years of the contemporary art scene are brought to us through the exhibitions.
Striking works by Sarkis, Hale Tenger, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Gülsün Karamustafa and Ayşe Erkmen are exhibited.
This approach is adequate for an institution that was launched as the contemporary art museum in Turkey. Aside from such notables names as Nil Yalter, Füsun Onur and Cengiz Çekil, the exhibition also features up-and-coming figures from the current art scene like Cevdet Erek, Seza Paker, Deniz Gül, Volkan Arslan and Aslı Çavuşoğlu.
While the exhibition mostly provides us with a snapshot of Turkey's contemporary art scene, it does include international icons like Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys, Mona Hatoum and Sigmar Polke. Rather than exhibitions drawing from its collection, it is said that Arter will continue holding ambitious temporary exhibitions from now on. Located in Istanbul's Dolapdere district, Arter will definitely finds its place in the city's culture map. Its marvelous courtyard, activities and sweeping exhibitions spaces will doubtlessly attract visitors.