Tayfun Gülnar’s fourth solo exhibition at x-ist, " Whispers of States on the Surface of Dreams", focuses on the magical power of imagination in the face of reality. In this exhibition, which Gülnar defines as the "surface of dreams," he emphasizes the effects of light and ways out of adverse situations.
The exhibition consists of a series of paintings in which the artist delves deeply into concepts such as loneliness and intimacy, singularity and plurality, and the cycle of life and death, all of which grow out of emotional and mental fluctuations. The works, in which landscapes are personified and transformed into representations of human emotions, aim to reflect universal human conditions such as loneliness and intimacy, sorrow and hope, in a context where class struggles blur. The boundaries of imagination, which form an essential part of mental creation and emotional and intellectual routines, and the ways individuals escape from difficult situations, are conveyed to the viewer through imagery.
The works — "The Burden of Dreams", "Creation of Joy", "Luminous at Night", and "The Sound of Mortalities" — transform into an interwoven network of emotions, encouraging viewers to contemplate the unity of opposites. The surreal and imaginary landscapes focus on human experiences such as isolation and crowds, singularity and abundance, the cycle of life and death, revealing the artist's core perspective. In works like "Curious", "Luminous at Night", "Luminous, Cloud Holder, World Bearer", "Surface Lights", and "Everything Will Blend into Green", Gülnar explores the coexistence of contrasting emotions such as freedom, power, responsibility, fear, and admiration in a fictional realm, while tracing these states through a visual memory shaped by imagination and storytelling.
The artist seeks to balance the traces of his imaginative accumulation between traditional painting and contemporary figurative art, transforming the unity and complementarity between humans and nature into a probabilistic order.
The exhibition can be viewed from September 12 to October 12, 2024, at x-ist’s new location in Gümüşsuyu, from Tuesday to Sunday between 11.00 and 19.00.