Artist Ercan Arslan's Dilemma and Balance exhibition, which touches the depths of the human soul, opened at CerModern, one of Ankara's most important art venues, curated by Burak Fidan. The exhibition, which will continue until December 8, includes 52 works of different sizes
Editor: Hülya Çelik
The most prominent and most eagerly awaited art event of this week in Ankara, as can be understood from the crowd at the opening, was the Ercan Arslan exhibition opened at CerModern. Hosted by CerModern, which is preparing to celebrate its 15th anniversary this year and has established a wide bridge between the audience and many branches of art in the city, from visual arts to music, from theater to design, the Dilemma and Balance exhibition is curated by Burak Fidan.
The best part of the opening, which took place on the evening of November 9 with the participation of the artist and the curator, for the Ankara audience, who I know are very eager to have a close dialogue with the artist about his works and ask all the details, was that both Ercan Arslan and Burak Fidan took an interest in each and every one of them, answered all the questions and were in close contact with the audience. During our conversation, Arslan told me that it was his first exhibition in Ankara, that he had heard that the Ankara audience had a unique structure and that he was excited for this reason.
As curator Burak Fidan also said in his curatorial text, Ercan Arslan's paintings in the Dilemma and Balance exhibition question the contradictions in human nature through the concepts of emptiness, polarization and uncertainty. The exhibition, which includes 52 works of different sizes, was placed in the hall of CerModern, while Ercan Arslan looked at the empty white wall right across from the hall and made an improvised drawing on that wall during the installation of the exhibition. And this drawing has now become a part of Dilemma and Balance.
“Uncertainty exists because we cannot describe the language of painting with words”
While watching Arslan’s paintings, the uncertainty in human figures catches my attention and I ask him: “We can understand that the figures in your paintings are human, but the boundaries of faces, genders and bodies are so limitless that we cannot fully understand what your figures feel, what kind of human situation they depict. What would you like to say about this? What kind of people are there on Ercan Arslan’s canvases?” Arslan begins to explain that it is not exactly what I thought it was: “Uncertainty exists because we cannot describe the language of painting with words. Otherwise, those figures, those forms are not limitless. My paintings have their own reality, their own language. They have no direct relation to the visible world that we know (with some exceptions). I do not work like a journalist. I do not sit down and reflect or interpret daily events in my paintings. I go deep into my inner world, to the accumulation there. I am not a surrealist, but maybe there is a world ‘above reality’ in my paintings. What I mean is this: Sometimes, in order to describe the truth, it is necessary to distance oneself from reality. What I really mean is my own truth. The further I get away from myself through painting, the more I seem to find myself. I want to get to the bottom, to the purest emotions with my paintings. I don’t think I’ve achieved this. Ultimately (with a sadistic feeling), I want to disturb the person looking at my paintings, make them ask questions and beat them up, and moreover, while I confront myself, I want the viewer to confront themselves by looking at these semi-abstract, semi-figurative paintings.”
Ercan Arslan’s use of colors in his paintings also draws my attention; vibrant blues, greens, oranges. I ask him this specifically because I know his relationship with colors from his previous interviews. “Colors have always been important to me,” he begins his words. “Finding new color harmonies/disharmonies, searching for different colors within colors, getting lost in the world of colors has always motivated me. I always want the colors I use to belong to me. Just like good poets have their own words. I do not work with symbols in either the use of color or the form.” When I wonder about the message behind the colors he uses, he answers as follows: “Whatever I reflect in the painting is that. There is no other meaning/message hidden behind it. It is the same with colors. Red is just red. Blue is blue. The harmony/disharmony, liveliness/paleness of colors among themselves gains meaning in the eye of the beholder (varies from person to person) according to that person’s mood and background. When creating compositions and forms with oil or acrylic, some colors inevitably impose themselves at certain times, against my will. I work layer by layer. After a long process, the viewer cannot see the hidden colors hidden in the lower layer in the finished painting, but I think they feel their presence/weight.”
“Not everything has to be permanent”
Of course, there are details about the improvised work I mentioned above that I am curious about. Because in my opinion, the most interesting aspect of the exhibition is that giant work. After all, when the exhibition is over, it will be painted over with white paint and only the photographs will remain of the work… If we look at the historical processes that art has gone through, the understanding of “real art is permanent” is now long gone. The art and artist of the 21st century do not see permanence as a criterion for the value of the work. We are discussing the formation of this work, which emerged during the installation and became almost the most striking work of the exhibition; its irregularity, limitlessness and transience attracting my attention. “I do not think of anything concrete when I make my paintings. My starting point is either a line, a color, or an uncertain image (that I don’t know) that roams around in the depths of my brain. I am always very afraid when I start painting. I would shit myself in fear in front of the white canvas and paper. My hands and feet would shake for a long time in front of the white void. The situation was no different in this large wall pattern that I created the day before the opening of the exhibition. I thought that such a large space needed such a large pattern, that I had to take over the space. Not everything has to be permanent. Sometimes all dignity and value lies in disappearing. Like a theater play, a piece of music. It is peaceful to know that this large wall pattern that I made with charcoal will also disappear after the exhibition is over, and will be covered with white paint. In my works, I try to create permanent works at least for a while by disappearing (since there is no eternal permanence), and to establish a balance between the two poles.”
Although I want to think long and hard about the peace that an artist experiences when they know that their work will disappear, I note this in a corner of my mind and ask about the technical details of the exhibition. Arslan says that there are 52 works in total. “In addition to oil canvases, there are acrylic paintings on paper, as well as drawings I made with ink and hybrid pen. I am a painter who thinks, produces and determines the subject matter through the material. Each material has its own characteristic features. These features determine the boundaries, content and meaning of the work you do. Naturally, you cannot do a work you do with ink with stone carving. This limitation determined by the material also forces me to find different ways of expression. For me, the material is actually a way out to get rid of repetition.”
Curator Burak Fidan: “I agree with those who believe that we have had enough of our human experience on the planet”
When our conversation with Ercan Arslan about the exhibition comes to an end, we come together with curator Burak Fidan to discuss the fundamental issue of the exhibition, the existence of “human” and the issue of “dilemma and balance”. “What makes a human being human? Is it the balance we are trying to create within dilemmas?” I ask. “This question encompasses the entire history of humanity,” Fidan begins to answer. And he continues as follows: “The answer a psychiatrist would give to this question or a biologist would give, or a novelist would give to a painter, could only provide different interpretations of the expected answer. Therefore, this question, as in the title of the exhibition, carries an ambiguity within it. The question may be the most important question in Ercan Arslan’s creative process. When we ask what is a human being, we are actually asking what is unique to humans, what is unique to humans? Being able to think abstractly or being able to concretize? We don’t know. Hope or hopelessness? We don’t know. Being loaded with contradictory thoughts? My dog Orange can also be in contradiction in some cases. We don't know. What is uniquely human? Sometimes we read a poem, listen to a piece of music, or when we stop in front of a picture, what is human is praised among all living beings. But then we come across another situation that is uniquely human, for example, a human who can kill babies, or another kind of human who can burn people in ovens and make soap, what is uniquely human shows that we are the most despicable being among living beings. We don't know. Ferit Edgü always said that being human is very difficult. I think the difficulty he emphasizes lies in the difficulty of man's struggle to create himself. I agree with those who believe that we have had enough of our human experience on the planet. It is time for us to think not as a human but as an animal, a plant, another conscious being that is not human. Therefore, I believe that the best answer to this question cannot be given by a human being, a being who has given up on being human because he cannot be human, perhaps…”
Another exhibition expanding the boundaries of contemporary art at CerModern
While Dilemma and Balance continues until December 8, CerModern’s new exhibition New Period Art: Meeting with Astim Collective has also started to welcome its audience. The exhibition, which can be seen until December 15, includes the works of Astim Collective, founded by Hakan Yılmaz, Süleyman Yılmaz, Kerem Meriç and Volkan Babaotu and attracted attention at the Çanakkale Biennial. The exhibition, where you can see the works of Hakan Yılmaz, Süleyman Yılmaz, Kerem Meriç, Volkan Babaotu, Mustafa Akkaya, Berkin Günsay and Erdal Duman, brings together a contemporary art approach shaped by industrial and environmental effects with digital media, immersive technologies and advanced transformation. The collective, which focuses on upcycling in art practice, that is, turning industrial waste into artistic expression, expands the boundaries of contemporary art.
If you want to see these two exhibitions in different styles and have a pleasant day at CerModern's restaurant, which also appeals to gastronomy enthusiasts, December 8 is the last day for Dilemma and Balance, and December 15 is the last day for Meeting with Astim Collective.
Source: https://gazeteoksijen.com/o2/ankarada-kultur-sanat-ercan-arslanin-ikilem-ve-denge-sergisi-ankarali-sanatseverlerle-bulustu-228243