On October 24th, x-ist opens the 5th of the exhibition series titled “Intersection” in which new and young talents are brought together. Intersection V includes the newest works of Engin Konuklu and Burçin Başar.
Engin Konuklu, born in Izmir in 1990, aims to take the audience to a journey which takes place in their own memory via the nostalgic imagery. His paintings - which remind us of thriller movies or old family photos - blurry and obscure at times, but look hyper-realist from a distance at others, are in fact composed of only a few skillful brush strokes. The portraits that receive light from below, the landscapes that are illuminated by headlights, the figures that are enlightened by an unknown source of light, are like movies made up of only a single scene; while piquing curiosity for the rest of the story, actually invite the audience to complete the background story. With his characters and style that refer to certain eras, Konuklu is interested in the transformation of a nostalgic frame along with all its characteristic details - from the haircut to the look - into a documentary like one. For him, all the characters are anonymous; rather than making connections with the people in the works, what's important for Konuklu is being able to transfer the perceived feeling onto the canvas, almost like a photograph.
The next young artist of the exhibition, Burçin Başar (born in Istanbul in 1984), brings together reality and the fantasy in her work that stems from the undetected realms of consciousness. The traces of a sunken city, an obscure figure reflected on the moss, a few belongings left outdoors.. In the scenes of Başar, which look peaceful at first glance, there are mysterious details hidden, while among the nature, which looks as if it is going to spurt out from the canvas, there are signs of life. In this fantastic world that signals the existence of human presence, everything (the heavens and the earth, fact and fantasy, indoors and outdoors) is intertwined; they exist within a structure where they both camouflage and complete each other. We witness the fantastic world perceived by Başar who portrays all contrasts with great harmony.
Intersection V, will be on view at x-ist until November, 23rd.
Kesişme V // Intersection V - Engin Konuklu & Burçin Başar from x-ist on Vimeo.