AUTUMN SEASON AT ARTER


AUTUMN SEASON AT ARTER
• Inaugural exhibition “Starter” to be extended until October 31.
• ARTER’s second exhibition to open in late November.
At ARTER, the new space for art in Istanbul, presented by the Vehbi Koç Foundation in May,
art lovers will be able to view the inaugural exhibition titled Starter until October 31. The
extension has been provided so that more students can visit in the new school term.
Curated by René Block and containing more than 160 works by 87 artists, “Starter” presents
contemporary art from Turkey and abroad, all belonging to the contemporary art collection of the
Vehbi Koç Foundation.
Alongside examples of contemporary art, Starter also offers a historical perspective of art from the
1960s to the present. Visitors will have the opportunity to view recent works of artists like Adel
Abidin, Halil Altındere, Nevin Aladağ, Maja Bajević, Elina Brotherus, Cevdet Erek, Ebru
Özseçen and Michael Sailstorfer, together with works by pioneers of conceptual and contemporary
art in Turkey and the world such as Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Cengiz Çekil, Ayşe Erkmen,
Rebecca Horn, Gülsün Karamustafa and Nam June Paik.
One of artist Michael Sailstorfer’s works, the life-size inflatable T-72 tank placed at ARTER’s
Istiklal Caddesi entrance has been one of the most captivating items in the Starter exhibition. Works
by artists of the Fluxus movement are collectively displayed on the second floor of the exhibition,
where interactive sound installations like Joe Jones’s “Player Piano”, John Cage’s “Mozart Mix”
and Ay-O’s “Ay-O and Joe’s Soundbox” continue to attract interest. Meanwhile, “Chelgis I” by
Iranian artist Mandana Moghaddam calls for a fresh outlook on issues related to the way women’s
bodies are represented. Maja Bajevic’s both dissenting and striking video work “Double Bubble”,
Servet Koçyiğit’s “Everything” which deals with prejudices, Nasan Tur’s “Arms”, a series of
photographs based on press images where various hand gestures of politicians are depicted, Iraqi artist
Adel Abidin’s politically charged video work “Foam” are just a few of the 160 works included in the
Starter exhibition.
During the summer months, it was not only art lovers from Istanbul who were attracted to the
inaugural exhibition Starter. Visitors from abroad with an eye on the city’s art scene were also drawn
to ARTER, which is situated on Istiklal Caddesi Istanbul's equivalent of Oxford Street, or Fifth
Avenue.. More than 18 thousand art lovers have visited the Starter exhibition to date.
Since its opening, ARTER has also been a focus of international cultural media. In June and July,
representatives from the well-known European cultural channel ARTE TV visited ARTER, and
featured the new establishment and the Starter exhibition in their broadcasts, as did The Guardian,
Art Newspaper and Art Review in the UK; Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine and
Tagesspiegel in Germany; and El Pais and ABC in Spain.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND EXHIBITION ARE UNDERWAY
The second exhibition of ARTER is curated by Emre Baykal and will open on the 27th of November.
Detailed information and the list of participating artists will be announced soon. Performances, panels,
seminars, workshops and talks by artists will be featured alongside the exhibition programme.
ARTER’s inaugural exhibition ‘Starter’ will be on display until October 31.
ARTER opening times:
Tuesday–Thursday
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
11:00–19:00
12:00–20:00
Closed on Mondays.
Admission to ARTER exhibitions is free
ARTER | space for art
İstiklal Caddesi 211, Beyoğlu
For more information : www.arter.org.tr
ARTER | space for art
“ARTER –Space for Art,” an initiative of the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKF), opened May 8th with
the exhibition “Starter”, curated by René Block and containing more than 160 works by 87 artists,
all belonging to the contemporary art collection of the Vehbi Koç Foundation.
ARTER is built as an exhibition space and is not a museum; nor are there any plans to convert the
current building into a museum in the future.
ARTER’s primary objective is to support and exhibit new productions both nationally and
internationally, thereby providing artists and their works a new, raised platform for visibility. As a
new art space in Istanbul, ARTER will also provide a setting for the required preparation work,
research and experimentation towards the museum complex the Vehbi Koç Foundation envisions.
The members of ARTER’s executive board are Ömer Koç (Chairman), Erdal Yıldırım (President of
the VKF), Melih Fereli (Culture and Arts Advisor of the VKF), Bahattin Öztuncay (General
Coordinator and Curator) and Emre Baykal (Exhibitions Director and Curator).