The “THESIS-ANTITHESIS-SYNTHESIS” exhibition of Mr. Selim Turan is held in SSM
For the 15th year the Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) of the Sabancı University continues to host Turkish painters and display the Turkish history of art with the contributions of Sabancı Holding and in cooperation with İstanbul University. One of the important figures in the Turkish history of art, Mr. Selim Turan, the painter and sculptor (1915-1994) will be shown to art lovers on May 30th with his “THESIS-ANTITHESIS-SYNTHESIS” exhibition.
“Selim Turan. Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis” under the curatorship of Mr. Dr. Necmi Sönmez also features the first personal exhibition of the artist after a long period of time. The majority of the works of art in the exhibition were selected from the Selim Turan Collection, which was donated by Mrs. Şahika Turan, his ceramic artist wife, to İstanbul University in 2003.
There are more than 100 works of art of Mr. Selim Turan in the exhibition. Mr. Turan lived from 1947 until his death between Paris and İstanbul, and his works bear the traces of the inspiration gained from the culture of both cities. Besides the works of art of Mr. Turan, the works of Hakkı Anlı, Nejad Devrim, Ferit İşcan, İlhan Koman, Mübin Orhon and Fahrelnissa Zeid all of whom lived and produced in Paris in the same period with him are also presented in the exhibition. The art environment of Paris with which Mr. Selim Turan had a close relationship is reflected with the works of art of Jean Bazaine, Henri Goetz, Leon Zack, Natalia Dumitresco and Alexander Istrati, who were important painters who were in this city between the years of 1947 and 1960.
The exhibition brings examples of the art started by Mr. Selim Turan in 1935 and which were mainly housed in Paris, together with a conceptual framework. The production of the artist who managed to build a bridge between the cultures of the East and West, both in his life and art, is evaluated in the exhibition with the concepts of “thesis, antithesis, synthesis”.
Ms. Dr. Nazan Ölçer, the Manager of SSM, stated with respect to the exhibition, “As SSM, we are very glad to continue our journey started with Feyhaman Duran, one of the important figures of the Turkish history of art, with the painter and sculptor Mr. Selim Turan who set light to a period with his works. It is a particular source of pride for us that the works of art of both artists were donated to İstanbul University by their wives, and İstanbul University has confidently delivered these works of art to the SSM in order for them to be brought together for the appreciation of art lovers. The most prominent characteristic of Mr. Selim Turan as an artist is that he never reflected his worries about whether his works could be understood or not, and always left the last word to the audience. Having such production that cannot be traditionally considered to fall into the categories of the inexperience, research and maturity periods in the history of art, Mr. Selim Turan always tried to raise questions in the minds of the audience in his art life when he tried figurative, realistic, tangible and symbolic ways of expression. We, in return, wanted to bring the works of art of the artist, accompanied by the trilogy of “thesis, antithesis, synthesis” during his art life, together with visitors in the exhibition to be held under the curatorship of Mr. Dr. Necmi Sönmez, and allow them to interpret the period of modern Turkish art after the 2nd World War with a different perspective, just like Mr. Turan did.”
Making a statement about the “THESIS-ANTITHESIS-SYNTHESIS” exhibition of Mr. Selim Turan, the estimable painter and sculptor in the Turkish history of art, Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak, the Chancellor of İstanbul University, said “The majority of the works of art in the exhibition consist of the Selim Turan Collection which was donated to İstanbul University by his ceramic artist wife Mrs. Şahika Turan. As İstanbul University, we intend to bring all collections, which were created with great efforts and are protected by our university, into the cultural heritage of the world. The Selim Turan Collection of İstanbul University is a significant outcome of this understanding. Revealing the importance attached by İstanbul University to art, artists, cultural heritage and cooperation, this exhibition will constitute an important source for the lovers of Turkish history of painting and for researchers. Mr. Mehmet Göçmen, the CEO of Sabancı Holding, also expressed his opinions as follows, “As the Group, we have always believed that economic development and social development is possible only when they are simultaneous. Art enriches people and societies. Therefore, we continue our investments in culture and art with a greater motivation for our people to look at life from a more positive perspective and with a more constructive mood. Today, we are very glad that we embrace our own values and support the presentation of the works of art of an artist who grew up in this geography, to the Turkish people.”
Mr. Dr. Necmi Sönmez, the curator of the exhibition, reported “Over 100 paintings, sculptures and printed works of the artist are presented to the audience in the “Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis” exhibition of Mr. Selim Turan. This presentation is of particular importance on the grounds that it is the most comprehensive exhibition organised for Mr. Turan. Being one of the important figures in the Turkish history of art, Mr. Turan lived between Paris and İstanbul from 1947 to his death and was influenced by the cultural environment of both cities and engaged in some visual experiments which were not known much. The exhibition not only reveals these visual experiments for the first time, but also aims at opening many undiscovered works of the artist for discussion from an experimental perspective.”
The works of art of Mr. Turan to be presented in the exhibition are classified depending on their periodic relationship and their place in conceptual pursuit. The titles of sections are named with the quotations of Mr. Feridüddin Attar, the mysticism philosopher who was read by the artist enthusiastically and impressed him from his Mantıku’t-Tayr book and the exhibition consists of the following section names: “How far is this road?”, “One can change his moods here.”, “You know the door is closed. Walk and arrive in that door.”, “Someone said, ‘I lost the key’.” and “I reached to the sea of secrets and I disappeared.” The “Selim Turan Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis” exhibition where his moving sculptures created between the years of 1980-1994 will be presented with a special exhibition session is available in SSM on August 13th.