From Traditional to Contemporary Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art

Istanbul Modern’s new exhibition "From Traditional to Contemporary: Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art", opened in February 2010. Focusing on the relationship between art and the traditional, the exhibition sought to show how artists employ history in their construction of modernism. Curated by Levent Çalıkoğlu, "From Traditional to Contemporary: Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art" was an exhibition showcasing modern and contemporary artists who reinterpret traditional information in the context of a new language of expression.

"From Traditional to Contemporary: Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art" consisted of works by the following artists: Erol Akyavaş, İsmet Doğan, İnci Eviner, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Selma Gürbüz, Ergin İnan, Balkan Naci İslimyeli, Murat Morova, and Ekrem Yalçındağ. Hold in the temporary exhibitions gallery, the show included works by the participating artists, from their different periods, and in disciplines ranging from video to painting and from installation art to photography.

"From Traditional to Contemporary: Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art" focused on the present and also on the past of modern art, bringing together a selection of objects, such as calligraphies, miniatures, stained glass, textiles, tombaks, and carpets. By juxtaposing these with the arts of painting, sculpture, photography, and installation, the exhibition encouraged viewers to establish visual and conceptual relationships between works of art, on the one hand, and history and culture, on the other.

Curator: Levent Çalıkoğlu