Istanbul's Elgiz Museum In 5 Artworks

Elgiz Museum is known most for its rooftop exhibition space, where sculpture work from local and international artists really stand out among the cityscape of nearby high rises. Privately owned and located in Maslak, one of Istanbul’s main business districts, Elgiz was opened in 2001 to represent the best of contemporary art. We took a look at some of the most striking works from recent exhibitions.

Three Monkeys by Mahmut Aydın

Born in Diyarbakır in 1989, Mahmut Aydın is a figurative sculptor living and working in Istanbul. Exploring the relationship between humans as socio-cultural creatures and their environment, Aydın aims to shed light on the sensitivity of the human body toward outside forces. His contrast of geometrical forms alongside the human body reflect the impact of social, natural, and artificial conditions on free will.

https://instagram.com/p/BK08yYFgaL0/

A View to Death by Hande Şekerciler

Living and working in Istanbul, sculptor Hande Şekerciler was born in Bursa in 1982 and has exhibited in Istanbul’s major galleries, such as ALAN, Gallery Selvin, and Çağla Çabaoğlu Gallery. Using epoxy and acrylics, Şekerciler’s sculptures reflect inner worlds: the thoughts that are captured in that exact moment. The sculptor’s themes usually revolve around the underlying fear of death that hides underneath peaceful daily life and routine rituals.

https://instagram.com/p/BKqot-1gbcS/

Der Gelbe Baron (Rötlich) by Jonathan Meese

A leader in a new generation of action painters, German artist Jonathan Meese is also a sculptor, instillation, and performance artist. Based in Berlin and Hamburg, Meese also designs theater sets and wrote and starred in the play, De Frau: Dr. Poundaddylein – Dr. Ezodysseusszeusuzur in 2007 at the Volksbühne Theater. In this oil and mixed-media work on canvas, the expressionistic application of paint reflects the artist’s personal fascinations as well as the unrefined elements of his subconscious. After gaining prominence at the 1998 Berlin Biennial, Meese’s work went on to be exhibited at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Saatchi Gallery in London.

https://instagram.com/p/8nIXkmnRDY/

Sometimes by Tracey Emin

An enfant terrible of the Young British Artists of the 1980s, Tracey Emin is an English contemporary artist who is known for her often shocking autobiographical and confessional work. Using a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text, and sewn appliqué, Emin’s work is often sexually provocative as she reveals her hopes, humiliations, failures, and successes in a very candid way. This photograph is from Emin’s 2001 film entitled, Sometimes the Dress Is Worth More Money Than the Money.

https://instagram.com/p/BK_POJ6D5dR/

Mur de la montée des anges by Jan Fabre

In the late 1970s, Jan Fabre set fire to bundles of money taken from the audience in order to make drawings with the ashes during his performance entitled ‘Money.’ From that point forward, Jan Fabre, born in Antwerp in 1958, went on to become one of the most innovative figures in the international contemporary art scene. A visual and performance artist, as well as author, Fabre has made drawings of dense monochrome fields, used copper thumbtacks encasing sculptural representations of his body, and (as pictured) began using green iridescent jewel beetles affixed to wire mesh shaped to become all kinds of three dimensional objects.

https://instagram.com/p/BImK3PrAXLB/