French Painter Henri Rousseau is being remembered with a summer exhibition consisting of the works of four naive painters from Istanbul. Curator Attila Güllü says, “Social criticism, humor and nostalgia are not lacking in the paintings of naive artists.”
The world-famous representative of naive or pure-hearted painting, French painter Henri Rousseau, is being remembered in Istanbul with an exhibition as naive as his style on the 180th anniversary of his birth. We know Rousseau for the tropical forests, wild animals, exotic geographies and beautiful female figures he painted on his canvases. Although the value of the painter who transformed the distant climates he painted into a masterpiece with the tones on his palette and the soft touch of his brush was not appreciated at the time, it is an undeniable fact that he is the pioneer of a movement today. The memory of the painter, whom we know as an autodidact (self-taught) genius, is being reminded to art lovers with the works of four naive painters in our country as a result of the efforts of curator Attila Güllü.
The exhibition at Galeri Deniz, located in Esentepe, is in short a respect exhibition. The selection consists of a total of 38 paintings, including works produced by Betül Bapir, Esra Sirman, Uğural Gafuroğlu and Zeynep San, both in a naive style and under the title “Respect to Henri Rousseau”.
We started with this exhibition and talked to curator Güllü about the point naive art has reached in Turkey. We asked Güllü, “Why Rousseau?”
"I knew that it was the 180th anniversary of the birth of the painter I personally admired, and I was already dreaming of an exhibition commemorating him," Güllü begins; and continues: "I thought that a colorful, cheerful and breezy summer exhibition would create a good intersection with the playful, childlike and humorous works of naive artists that carry and spread positive emotions." Reminding that the painter was initially ridiculed due to his style, Güllü notes that he is currently exhibited in the world's leading museums and says; "Rousseau's story is a striking example of how mainstream taste/evaluations, preconceptions and critics/know-it-alls can be wrong in painting." ROUSSEAU’S ISTANBUL INTERPRETATION
We briefly mentioned the artists and the concept they produced above. Attila Güllü expands on this: “For this commemorative exhibition, each artist interpreted a work by Rousseau in their own style; I think very interesting mutations emerged. The remaining works – except for Esra Sirman – were our artists’ interpretations of Istanbul in their own style. Sirman produces imaginary, fantastic and very colorful representations of nature in Rousseau’s footsteps. Since Rousseau is the greatest and most well-known naive artist, all artists found this form of respect appropriate.”
So what is the status of “pure heart” painting in our country? Is there enough interest in this style by artists and art lovers? Güllü, who says that the status of pure heart art in Turkey presents an interesting duality, mentions the existence of a vein that excludes, ignores and belittles pure heart art, just like it was done with Rousseau. “On the other hand, we see that pure heart art is also included in all major collections. During my last visit, I saw that a special section titled ‘Combination of Different Inspirations’ was dedicated to pure heart painting at the İş Bankası Painting and Sculpture Museum on İstiklal Street,” explains Attila Güllü.
There is an emotion in each of the paintings exhibited in the gallery; we can sense this very clearly. However, in today’s art, we see the dominance of a school where technical success is emphasized rather than emotion, emotions remain in the background and the abstract is given importance.
Güllü notes the following on this subject: “Indeed, the intensity/complexity of thought, technical competence and the abstract are more respected/approved and encouraged We can talk about an environment. The paintings you see in this exhibition are emotionally charged, sometimes too much so… They paint with their hearts filled with childish, simple, joyful and extremely intense love. Social criticism, humor and nostalgia are not missing from the paintings.”
We can say that the paintings made with this feeling also grasp the viewer emotionally. The paintings that make you smile and cheer up are the ones in this respect exhibition.
Güllü, who invites Istanbul art lovers to the exhibition of the pure-hearted artists who present their interpretations of Istanbul by commemorating the great master Rousseau, finally expresses a wish: “I hope that in the future we will commemorate Rousseau with a big event with international participation; the pure-hearted painting style that is also widely appreciated in the world will also be nourished by local folklore, stories and styles.”
The exhibition is open to visitors until August 22.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber/rousseaunun-naifligi-istanbula-nese-veriyor-551721