‘Vasarely Sergis’ known as the father of Op Art and ‘New Lands…’ embracing young artists Çeşmeli residents will get to know Vasarely, considered one of the 5 most important artists of the second half of the 20th century, and discover young artists under the age of 40 in the ‘New Lands’ exhibition.
Whenever I go to Arkas Sanat in İzmir, I return to İstanbul with my heart and eyes full of art and with exciting new art news. Of course, that is what happened this time too.
Arkas Sanat Alaçatı, the fifth art center opened by İzmir-based art lover businessman and collector Lucien Arkas since 2011, opened its doors with two impressive and extremely comprehensive exhibitions:
Hungarian-born French artist Victor Vasarely known as the father of Op Art and curated by Dr. The ‘New Lands’ exhibition by Necmi Sönmez, which brings together 155 contemporary artists under the age of 40.
I can say that the building itself, which was built by Artı3 Architecture, is as impressive as the exhibitions I had the chance to attend. Artı3 is also the architecture office that built the Art Center in Urla.
Cesme enthusiast Lucien Arkas believes that the museum, which was built in a short period of 14 months on land allocated by the Cesme Municipality for a period of 30 years, will fill the art gap in the district.
“Cesme is only alive for 2 months. It empties out as soon as schools open. Artistic and cultural activities can extend its stay here. This is one of the missions of Cesme’s first art center with its permanent and temporary exhibition halls, cultural and artistic events from every discipline and various workshops,” he says.
Cesme’s young mayor Lal Denizli, who attended the opening, shares the same opinion. The great interest that Arkas Sanat Alaçatı has received since its opening is an indication of how much Çeşme needs such an art center.
VASARELY, THE FATHER OF OP ART
Arkas Sanat Alaçatı's permanent exhibition is Victor Vasarely, known as the father of the optical illusion art Op Art. Lucien Arkas is one of the world's largest collectors of Vasarely, who was featured in the Tate Collection's 'Dynamic Eye: Beyond Optical and Kinetic Art' exhibition at Feshane in recent months.
In fact, some of the works from his collection have been exhibited in the section named after him at the Vasarely Museum in Aix-En-Provence since 2018. Arkas Holding organized a large-scale Victor Vasarely retrospective exhibition in Tophane-i Amire in Istanbul in 2017, and then brought the exhibition to art lovers in Izmir.
When Pierre Vasarely, the grandson of Victor Vasarely, the curator of the exhibition at Tophane-i Amire, came across me at the opening in Alaçatı, I had the opportunity to talk about the father of Op Art firsthand.
Pierre Vasarely, who has been friends with Lucien Arkas since 2011, says that his grandfather left his medical education unfinished and studied graphic design at an art school in Budapest that took the German Bauhaus as an example.
“After my grandfather, who came from the Bauhaus school, migrated to Paris in 1930, he worked in the advertising sector as a graphic artist for a while. He has his signature on many logo designs and posters, including the logo for Renault cars that he developed with my father Jean Pierre -nicknamed Yvaral-, who was also an artist,” he says.
During this period, Victor Vasarely pondered how the human brain perceives visual information and laid the foundations of Op Art by working on geometric patterns and optical illusions.
The first of the two turning points in his art was the exhibition ‘Movement’, the first major international exhibition of kinetic art, which he opened in Paris in 1955, and the other was the exhibition ‘The Responsive Eye’, held at MoMA 10 years later in 1965.
Whenever I visit Arkas Sanat in Izmir, I return to Istanbul with my heart and eyes full of art and exciting new art news. Of course, that is what happened this time.
Arkas Sanat Alaçatı, the fifth art center opened by the art-loving businessman and collector Lucien Arkas from Izmir since 2011, opened its doors with two impressive and extremely comprehensive exhibitions:
The exhibition ‘New Lands’, curated by Hungarian-born French artist Victor Vasarely, known as the father of Op Art, and Dr. Necmi Sönmez, bringing together 155 contemporary artists under the age of 40.
I can say that the building itself, which was realized by Artı3 Architecture, is as impressive as the exhibitions I had the chance to attend. Artı3 is also the architectural office that built the Art Center in Urla.
Cesme enthusiast Lucien Arkas believes that the museum, which was built in a short period of 14 months on land allocated by the Cesme Municipality for a period of 30 years, will fill the art gap in the district.
“Cesme is only alive for 2 months. It empties out as soon as schools open. Artistic and cultural activities can extend the period of stay here. This is one of the missions of Cesme’s first art center with its permanent and temporary exhibition halls, cultural and artistic events from every discipline and various workshops,” he says.
Cesme’s young mayor Lal Denizli, who attended the opening, also shared the same view. The intense interest Arkas Sanat Alaçatı has received since its opening is an indication of how much Cesme needs such an art center.
VASARELY, THE FATHER OF OP ART
Arkas Sanat Alaçatı’s permanent exhibition is by Victor Vasarely, known as the father of the optical illusion art Op Art. Lucien Arkas is one of the world’s largest collectors of Vasarely, who was featured in the Tate Collection’s ‘Dynamic Eye: Beyond Optical and Kinetic Art’ exhibition at Feshane in recent months.
In fact, some of the works from his collection have been exhibited in the section named after him at the Vasarely Museum in Aix-En-Provence since 2018. Arkas Holding organized a large-scale Victor Vasarely retrospective exhibition at Tophane-i Amire in Istanbul in 2017, and then brought the exhibition to art lovers in Izmir.
When Pierre Vasarely, the grandson of Victor Vasarely, who was the curator of the exhibition at Tophane-i Amire, came across me at the opening in Alaçatı, I had the opportunity to talk about the father of Op Art firsthand.
Pierre Vasarely, who has been friends with Lucien Arkas since 2011, says that his grandfather left his medical education unfinished and studied graphic design at an art school in Budapest that took the German Bauhaus as an example.
“After my grandfather, who came from the Bauhaus school, migrated to Paris in 1930 and worked in the advertising sector as a graphic artist for a while. He has his signature on many logo designs and posters, including the logo for Renault cars that he developed with my father Jean Pierre (nicknamed Yvaral), who was also an artist,” he says.
During this period, Victor Vasarely pondered how the human brain perceives visual information and laid the foundations of Op Art by working on geometric patterns and optical illusions.
The first of the two turning points in his art was the ‘Motion’ exhibition, the first major international exhibition of kinetic art, which he opened in Paris in 1955, and the other was the ‘The Responsive Eye’ exhibition held at MoMA 10 years later in 1965.
ANDY WARHOL KNEELED AS “MASTER”
My conversation with Pierre Vasarely, who heads the Vasarely Foundation, gave me the opportunity to look at the world of Op Art more comprehensively for the first time. Viktor Vasarely, who always uses science and mathematics in his works of art, has British singer David Bowie among his fans. He had his record covers made by the artist and also attended his workshops in France. Pierre Vasarely says that his grandfather’s other singer fans were the French rock king Johnny Hallyday, who was a family friend, and the famous names of the period Antoine and Michel Polnareff. Once, when he attended an invitation in New York with Victor Vasarely, he witnessed Andy Warhol kneel before his grandfather as “master”.
“Despite this, there has been a dispute between Op Art and Pop Art as to which one was the pioneer. Art historians have shown that Op Art was the pioneer, but Pop Art took the lead with the marketing skills of the USA,” he says.
According to Pierre Vasarely, his grandfather, who was among the 5 most important artists of the second half of the 20th century, was a leftist and a person who contributed to the democratization of art. He produced numbered copies, posters and textile prints so that his works could reach the masses outside of art galleries.
“He also opened museums with his own means, just like Lucien Arkas. The museum he opened in Pecs, his birthplace, and in Aix-En-Provence, outside of Budapest, was all thanks to the support of my grandmother, who was also a painter,” says his grandson Vasarely.
ARKAS: I LOVED THE ACTIVITY IN HIS WORKS
So how did Lucien Arkas, who always says he loves classical art and has a significant collection of impressionist works, become close to Op-Art?
Lucien Arkas’ answer to this question is as follows: “30 years ago, Niko Filidis, who was our art consultant, introduced me to his works. I liked the dynamism in Vasarely. Especially his globes. I started my collection with globes anyway.”
Later, due to the exhibition held in Istanbul, he developed his friendship with his grandson Vasarely and started a collaboration with the Vasarely Foundation. In the meantime, the second comprehensive exhibition at Arkas Sanat Alaçatı, “New Lands,” is also contemporary art that Lucien Arkas is not very familiar with yet.
Arkas Art Center Director Müjde Unustası says, “With this exhibition, we wanted to contribute to the visibility of young artists. There were demands, especially from young artists from İzmir.” Unustası and curator Dr. The collaboration with Necmi Sönmez has created a dazzling and “revolutionary” exhibition that you will only be familiar with by visiting a few times.
NEW LANDS: A KICK TO THE OLD-HEADS
Necmi Sönmez, with whom we visited the New Lands Exhibition, states that he set out from the famous French writer Marcel Proust’s words, “There are two realities. One is the reality of the mind, the other is the reality of the heart” while preparing this exhibition and says, “When preparing this exhibition, I brought together young artists who set out from the realities of the heart.”
He states that they selected 155 local and foreign artists under the age of 40 from 30 different collections and says, “The common point of these artists is that they follow a concept, a system, a theme, a movement.”
He continues by saying, “We are now living in a different period in the world. Patterns and movements no longer have any characteristics. What is important is for the artist to be himself.”
According to Sönmez, another feature of the ‘New Lands’ exhibition is that the works are not symmetrical or neatly hung on the wall.
“You will not see a tidy world here. On the contrary, you will see a chaotic world. What makes this world singular is the courage of Turkish artists. No one expected this courage. There were strange prejudices about these artists. We saw that these prejudices were not true. In other words, a very serious, very strong generation of artists under the age of 40 is in effect at this moment. After a while, they will kick the old generation, the old-fashioned ones and come to the place they deserve,” says Sönmez.
There are both brave and never-before-exhibited works in the ‘New Lands’ exhibition.
“In the paintings, videos, sculptures and installations you will see here, technique does not matter, what matters is how the artist can convey his/her thoughts and the world he/she emphasizes while conveying them. There is a very different world and you do not have to be interested in art to understand it. You have to listen to your heart. I liked it, I did not like it. I liked it, I did not like it. This is very important and there is no explanation for it,” he says.
POMPIDOU CENTER IN IZMIR IN 2026!
In a conversation with Lucien Arkas, Arkas Art’s events and art news come one after another.
For example, there is a surprise exhibition preparation that will create quite a stir in the fall months at Arkas Art Center.
The historical Ayşe Mayda Mansion, which is currently under restoration in Konak, Izmir, will open its doors in the spring of 2025.
The bombshell news is that we will see a Pompidou Center in Izmir in 2026.
You may ask where did the Pompidou come from in Izmir. Lucien Arkas conveys the truth of the matter as follows:
“The building built 47 years ago by Renzo Piano, who is also the architect of Istanbul Modern, is now tired. It will remain closed for restoration work between 2025 and 2030. Picasso Museum Director Laurent Le Bon, with whom we have good relations due to the Picasso Exhibition, is currently at the helm of the Pompidou Center. There is a new museum project called ‘Art Factory’ for a part of the modern and contemporary collection of 140 thousand works from the 20th and 21st centuries, but the collection is so large that Le Bon Pompidou wants to be present in other places. Thanks to our close relationship, İzmir has applied for this.”
I think İzmir has a great chance! The Pompidou Center, which has opened its doors in Metz, Malaga, Brussels and Shanghai in addition to Paris and is in the preparation phase for New Jersey, will undoubtedly bring the city to a completely different place on the art map of Turkey.
An agreement was signed between Arkas Sanat and the Pompidou Center regarding this, and the land where Arkas will build the museum was also visited by the center’s officials.
The building to be built on the 2000 square meter land in the Mistral Towers where Arkas Holding has its offices will be the new home of the Pompidou Center.
Author: Gila BENMAYOR
Source: https://www.ekonomim.com/kose-yazisi/cesmeye-arkasin-sanat-dokunusu/755734#google_vignette