The 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, one of the most important art events in the world, opens its doors on Saturday, April 20, after the preview days. The Venice Biennale Turkey Pavilion, which can be visited until November 24, 2024, hosts artist Gülsün Karamustafa's new site-specific installation 'Hollow and Broken: A State of the World'.
Gülsün Karamustafa, who has been focusing on current sociopolitical and cultural issues for more than 50 years, brings to the space with an installation the feeling of emptiness, hollowness and brokenness created by the state of silence and deadlock we are in, in the face of devastating wars, earthquakes and environmental disasters in different geographies of the world.
The Pavilion of Turkey, coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), meets with art lovers under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the main sponsorship and airline partnership of Turkish Airlines, and with the production and broadcast support of SAHA Association.
The opening of the Pavilion of Turkey, located in the Arsenale, one of the main exhibition venues of the Venice Biennale, was held on Thursday, April 18, with the participation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Rome Ambassador Ömer Güçlük, Rome Embassy Culture and Promotion Counselor Haluk Söner, Milan Consul General Mehmet Özöktem and Venice Honorary Consul General Filippo Olivetti attended the opening hosted by İKSV Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “The biennial brings together artists from all over the world and brings together different cultures and art movements; It is an important opportunity to speak the universal language of art and deepen cultural interaction and understanding. As Turkey, it is of great importance for us to take part in this powerful platform of art and to promote our cultural heritage internationally. We make a real effort to exhibit the works of our artists, promote Turkish art internationally and support our artists. "I think that the Venice Biennale, which is an art event for our country as well as a tool of cultural diplomacy and international relations, will be an important step to introduce our culture and art to the world and strengthen international cooperation," he said.
İKSV Chairman of the Board of Directors Bülent Eczacıbaşı said: “This year, we are presenting a new site-specific installation by artist Gülsün Karamustafa at the Pavilion of Turkey. Karamustafa impressively conveys his perception of today's world with this striking installation, which he created with pieces that look extremely beautiful when viewed from a distance, but soon reveal their structure consisting of broken and hollow objects. This work reminds us once again of the unique power of art. Art has a profound ability to awaken and reveal a beauty that remains persistently constant at the core of the world, unshakable even in the chaos of existence, to renew our hope and strengthen our faith in the future. As the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, we have devoted ourselves to nurturing and growing this transformative power of art for more than half a century; From now on, we will continue to nurture this beauty that only art can reveal.”
Gülsün Karamustafa said the following about her work in the Pavilion of Turkey: “The first thoughts of my project, which took its place in Sale d'Armi today, are the feeling of emptiness, hollowness and brokenness that I deeply feel among the destructions, pains, losses and empty values in human relations. It stemmed from the desire to. The basic elements of the work, the chandeliers representing the three heavenly religions, the column molds that cannot stand on their own, the iron structure that supports them and finally the containers on rails, came together from Istanbul, Venice and Zengzhou, China. So I saw that we had been tracking on historical trade routes for almost eight months.”
Who is Gülsün Karamustafa?
In his artistic practice of more than 50 years, he has focused on painting, installation, video and performance productions; It addressed issues such as migration, locality, identity, cultural difference and gender. Karamustafa, in his works that emerged from personal and historical narratives and varied in terms of material and methodology, revealed the social and political injustices especially in Turkey's modernization process. Issues of displacement and memory frequently came up in his works. Karamustafa continues to inspire new generations of artists.
Source:https://www.diken.com.tr/venedik-bienali-60-uluslararasi-sanat-sergisi-turkiye-pavyonu-sanatseverzler-bulustu/