SELMA GÜRBÜZ: LONG NIGHT. FARAWAY VOYAGES AT RAMPA GALLERY ISTANBUL
January 5, 2013 – February 9, 2013
SELMA GÜRBÜZ: LONG NIGHT. FARAWAY VOYAGES AT RAMPA GALLERY ISTANBUL
January 5, 2013 – February 9,
2013
Selma Gürbüz
meets viewers with her one-person exhibition at Rampa, “Long Night. Faraway
Voyages.”, on January 5–February 9, 2013. The exhibition, composed of Gürbüz’s
paintings, drawings, and sculptures realized in 2011–12, displays the visual
mythologies of Gürbüz’s extensive art practice.
The works are
a continuation of Gürbüz’s mysterious, magical world that we had seen in
previous exhibitions. In these large-scale paintings and sculptures, Selma
Gürbüz gives a voice to the images she has compiled from both real and dream
voyages: the human figures are accompanied by animals and plants; inspiration
from ancient Egyptian art, Chinese and Japanese painting traditions, Velazquez,
Monet, Islamic miniatures and manuscripts can be traced in the works.
Gürbüz’s art
is about images. These images are not purely painterly, but are rather enriched
by poetry, fairy tales, and parables. Each painting has its own story; they are
not born from stories, but rather have formed their own unique tales. As has
been pointed out about Gürbüz’s work, “These paintings stem from a dream in the
middle of the night, lit by a full-moon.”
Selma Gürbüz
looks at themes derived from history, nature, the subconscious, and
mythology—the human figures are quite often alone, displaying animal-like
characteristics. This points to them being integrated into nature and that they
are protected by nature. Their discomforts and pain express the artist’s own
creative process. Recently, figures are situated on the artist’s meticulously
woven, dream-like landscapes, integrated as her palette transitions from black
to soft hues of brown. Her characters are mysterious and poetic at the same
time, inviting the viewer to interrogate and express their inner worlds. We
remember what we have seen and on the other side, the reality is not out of our
minds; it chases us. By displaying our fears, dreams, and anxieties, Gürbüz
actually points to what exists through what is constructed. Perhaps this is why
Gürbüz positions herself at the intersection of curiosity and magic.
To see the
world within this other world, the viewer does not need glasses. Imagination is
more than enough.
http://www.rampaistanbul.com/en/exhibition/long-night-faraway-voyages/
NIGHT.
SLEEPING BEAUTIES 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 155 x 300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
FOOL MOON IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. BRIDGE. SEASIDE. PROMENADE 2011 ( DETAIL )
NOTES
1
It is the
imagination that renders habitable the world around us.
Art is the
most important source of nourishment for the imagination.
And in turn it
is the imagination that feeds art itself.
Ferit Edgü
FOOL MOON IN
BROAD DAYLIGHT. BRIDGE. SEASIDE. PROMENADE 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 150 x 260 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
SUNSET. BEFORE
& BEYOND 2011
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 200 x 115 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
12.
SUNSET.BEFORE & BEYOND.
Her
eyes were on her back.
She was
so beautiful, so alluring, and her eyes were
On her
back.
Those
mountains, the peaks, the pastures and the
Meadows,
the forests were in front of her.
She
wandered into them.
She
joined them.
Her
eyes were on her back –
So
that, even if you cannot see her face, she can see
yours.
Ferit Edgü
3
Selma, in her
latest long journey is not, like some Western Colonialist, trying to teach her
own language to the people living to the East and to the West in this, our
world. Instead she is teaching the language of these very people, or rather,
the language of this world itself – the language of love, of silence, of music,
the language of the night, of the forest and birds and the ever changing and
ambiguous language of that process that we call life.
Because she
knows that words themselves have limitations she shares what she has learned
through images instead.
She shares the
things she has learned and has not been able to forget.
Ultimately
painting is a recollection.
Ferit Edgü
MORNING.FROG
CHATTER 2012
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 155 x 230 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
4
If it is true
that thare is no time in painting
What is this
night?
What is this
full moon?
What is this
daylight?
This Spring,
this Autumn – what are they?
No, no, time
is also there in a painting.
But it is not
the ‘’straight time ‘’ of this world.
The time in a
painting
Is at the time
both yesterday,
Today,
And tomorrow,
For this
reason, as I said,
Selma is a
contemporary of both the past and the future.
That’s her
paintings for you!
Ferit Edgü
NIGHT. FETE IN
THE FOREST 2012
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 190 x 270 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
5
Selma takes
the molds we are led to believe are unbreakable and smashes them to pieces, she
buries concepts in words, blasts geometry into outer space, takes refuge in the
creative power of the image and puts her name to paintings that are a meeting
ground of the past and the future and which are at the same time both very old
and very new.
Ferit Edgü
DAYLIGHT. PATHS. PEOPLE & BRIDGES., 2012 ( DETAIL )
6
Many of the
writers and illustrators that we refer to as post – modern do in fact ‘’ create
‘’ their work by benefiting to some degree or other from previously created
works of art. For example by using a subject, a painting, by making ( or
perhaps not making ) reference to an actual original work, or by re-working it.
There are some
examples of this too in some of Selma’s paintings.
A figure from
a Manet, a nude ( Olympia ); or a figure from Velasquez’s Meninas or a nude
from Cranach, a little touch of a Siyah Qalem work…
But there is a
very important distinction between the works of the post – modernists and
Selma’s own work: it is as if the works of Manet, Velasquez or Siyah Qalem had
never existed, as if Selma had imagined them and called them into being and
ascribed them to those artists and then taken them back and made her own
paintings.
Ferit Edgü
DAYLIGHT. PATHS.
PEOPLE & BRIDGES., 2012
Ink on Handmade
Paper
Dimensions: 150 x
300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
7
Is the full
moon a ‘’ motif ‘’ in these pictures? Or is it a symbol?
In my opinion
it is a symbol, but a symbol of more than one thing.
Because in the
‘’ long night ‘’ of history in many different geographical regions and in many
different cultures the moon and the sun have inspired a multitude of religions.
I am speaking
of the cultures of the Maya, the Aztec, the Egyptians, the Jews, the Indians,
the Chinese, the Japanese, and of İslam.
For example,
in Ancient Egypt the moon was thought to light the dangerous path of the
imagination whilst the sun lit up the grand path of the intellect and of
objectivity.
And in ancient
China the ‘’ Moon Festival ‘’ was one of their three largest celebrations.
In Etruscan
art, to which many artists feel immensely drawn, the moon was a symbol of
fertility and was used in measurement. The star of the night.
The moon,
which does not emit its own rays but instead reflects those of the sun, is Yin
whilst the sun is Yang.
And again, if
I were to mention that the favored animals of the Chinese Moon are the rabbit
and the frog, I might be guilty of leading your interpretations of the
paintings, and this I do not wish to do.
Instead, I
shall say this much: apart from the Moon which appears as a leitmotif in
Selma’s paintings, there are countless elements that carry universally symbolic
meaning.
Like the wild
geese of Ancient Egypt that were seen as messengers between the sky ( that is
to say the gods ) and the earth ( humankind ).
Am I putting
forward all these points in order to suggest that Selma is a symbolist painter?
God forbid!
All I wish to
point out is this: These paintings have far deeper meaning than is apparent
from a first glance.
Ferit Edgü
FOREST. FULL
MOON 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 155 x 300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
NIJINSKY.
REVERIE 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 200 x 115 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
DREAM OF
NIJINSKY
Wood
Dimensions: 84 x 35 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
VOYAGE TO THE
EAST. IN THE EAST 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 240 x 122 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
ECHO 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 77 x 50 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
ALTER EGO 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 110 x 60 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
KUFIC 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 236 x 121.5 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
HONEYMOON 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 145 x 89 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
DANS.
PURIFICATION 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 152 x 260 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
NYMPH 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 100 x 39 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
EXPANSE. LOST.
2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 238 x 120 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
NARCISSE 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 137 x 122 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
VALENTINE 2012
Wood
Dimensions: 140 x 114 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
SUN PARASOL
WOMAN 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 240 x 122 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
SELMA GÜRBÜZ
WRITING BY
FERİT EDGÜ
Selma Gürbüz
is an artist unique amongst her contemporaries. One has to look not to our
times but instead much deeper into a far distant past in order to find works
that can be compared to hers. Selma is an expert at conjuring into being the so
far hidden image. She crates worlds from imaginary creatures of legend, from
ghosts, genies and fairies; from black, white or grey magic, from the Alchemists’
Mundus Elementaris, and from the enduring threads of the Tales of 1001 Nights.
She also draws inspiration from Karagöz shadow puppetry, from shamans and
spells, from Divination books, Astrology books and from the mystical figures
portrayed by the 15 th century artist Siyah Qalem. She creates her art by
starting from these reference points and yet moves towards rather than away
from them. She summons these ancient kith and kin to our times and even into a
future beyond our present.
Selma creates
a world of her own; or, more accurately one should say an ethnography, a
mythology, and legend all her own. The creatures she carries over from the
darkness of the Middle Ages perform their shamanic dances upon a fur pelt of
modernity. And theirs is such a shamanic celebration that I find myself
thinking I am mistaken and that they have come from the future rather than from
the past. I Can’t be sure about the art of the future; but will it not be born
from these types of images that seem with their patterns, words, scenes,
events, and appearances to change destiny by challenging that which already
exists and making known the unknown?
If every
ending in the sphere of art is at the same time a new beginning, then why not?
Andre Breton,
in the incomparable L’Art Magique, his last piece before his death begs the
same questions as Valentine of Alexandria: ‘’ What is the purpose of the image?
‘’
The image, or
as is inferred here, representation, is a concept which many artists have long
since put up on the shelf.
But in
art no issue, moreover no representation will stay on the shelf for ever.
So now we see
Selma, hundreds of years later, asking the same question as Valentine of
Alexandria. And she gives an answer that differs greatly from Breton’s: not
with words, but with reprasantations. I feel that she is saying:
Represantations are the new born twins of living things. But they have nothing
in common with living things. Because I have not created them in their
likeness, I have created them from my imagination.
The full moon
that lights up the night sky, lakes, streams, oceans, ocean beds…
The night that
knows no end.
The creatures
of the land and the sea: Panthers, native girls, scrubland roosters, fishermen,
fish, frogs.
People. Men
and women.
Bridges. Roads.
From East to
West: West to East.
I sincerely
hope that there are still others today who believe, as I do, that knowledge and
intelligence remain incomplete and insufficient without the greatest force of
the human mind – the power of the imagination. Because only such people will be
able to access the truths portrayed in stories, legends, myths and fables only
they will be able to participate in the journey on which Selma is inviting them
and they alone will perceive the hidden meanings in these works. By creating
these works Selma shares with us the memories that have remained with her from
epic journeys sha has undertaken and from her experiences during long – drawn
nights.
Which night?
Which journey?
The pictures
give the answers to these questions.
Only those who
have pushed their imagination to its limits, and who have abandoned concepts
and learned to think in images without preconceptions, without superficial
logic, only those people will correctly interpret what is being presented to us
from this long night and these epic journeys.
In order to
fully understand these works that have been created by weaving together the
past and the future by the pushing back and forth of a shuttle on the loom of
time, one must consider the long journeys linking geography and history,
linking the art of Japan and China, Etruscan art and Ancient Egyptian art and
linking Ottoman art to the art of the Asian steppe. Every great work of art
that actually alters a person comes into being as a result of such great
journeys.
DISTANCES.
PROMENADE 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 240 x 122 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
HARVEST 2012 ( DETAIL )
THE PAINTINS IN WORDS
Many of
Selma’s previous exhibition catalogues have one thing in common: The writers
( and I
include among them the author of these very lines ) do not examine, describe,
or explain the paintings from the perspective of an art critic, but instead
write pieces inspired by the world that these paintings create. They have let go, as far as they dared, of
the reins of their guided by the paintings themselves.
They have not
pursued the meaning of the meaning of the paintings themselves but instead have
followed the story of the paintings own existence; they have then related that
story to the best of their ability.
I do not
imagine that this is a coincidence.
I too feel
that this is the right way forward – to think ( or should I say to imagine ) in
terms of images rather than concepts, to perceive rather than to expound upon
and to try to bring into words that which one has perceived – thus creating a
bridge between oneself and the paintings.
I am not
commenting, using words; rather I wish to present a form of the inspiration
that has come to me from this world in front of me.
It is as if
the painting wishes me to do this. It is as if what I am supposed to say is murmuring
to me at the edge of silence. But that is all.
And I try to
comply with this request.
Only in this
way can both myself and the paintings become subjects and objects in the same
world.
Just like it
sometimes happens in dreams.
Ferit Edgü
HARVEST 2012
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 155 x 230 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
7. DISTANCES. PROMENADE.
The painter,
upon holding a mirror to her face sees
Neither
herself nor another.
In
astonishment she begins to paint that face which
Belongs to no
one.
As she paints,
that face becomes hers and that of another
That is to
say, everyone.
Ferit Edgü
IN THE FOREST.
I SEE, I DO NOT SEE, I SEE 2011
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 155 x 230 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
ASENA 2011
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 155 x 300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
8. NIGHT. SLEEPING BEAUTIES.
There were
eleven women.
Eleven women
had lustrous black hair.
Eleven women
awoke from sleep and shook out their
Hair.
Eleven women
met in one place and made contact
( became a
painting )
Eleven women
were happy and unhappy.
And all eleven
women fell in love.
Ferit Edgü
MORNING. WILD
ROOSTERS 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 153 x 301 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
KING KONG
1,2,3 – 2012
Bronzo
112 x 90 x 65 cm ( King Kong 1 )
136 x 85 x 65 cm ( King Kong 2 )
120 x 105 x 95 cm ( King Kong 3 )
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
RED MOON. WILD
GEESE 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 153 x 300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
NIGHT. TO SEE
THE FOREST 2012
Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions: 155 x 300 cm
© Courtesy the Artist & Rampa Istanbul
SELMA GÜRBÜZ
Selma Gürbüz
(1960) was born in İstanbul, Turkey. After having studied at Exeter College of
Art Design between 1980-1982, she graduated from Marmara University Fine Arts
Faculty in 1984.
Her recent
solo exhibitions include “Carnivalesque”, Rampa, Istanbul (2017); “Intemporel”,
Galeri Nev, Ankara (2016); “Daydream”, Rampa, Istanbul (2014); “Long Night.
Faraway Voyages.”, Rampa, Istanbul (2013); “Mind’s Eye”, Lawrie Sahbibi
Gallery, Dubai (2011); “Shadows of Myself”, Rose Issa Projects at Leighton
House Museum, London (2011); “Archetypes”, Warehouse (Antrepo) No: 3, İstanbul
(2010), “Sunny Shadows”, Gallery Apel, İstanbul (2008) and Makii Masaru Fine
Arts, Tokyo (2007); “Feline I”, Galerie Maeght, Paris (2006); “Feline II”,
Gallery Apel, İstanbul (2006); “The Fairy and the Genie”, Gallery Apel,
İstanbul (2004), “Yünname”, Gallery Apel, İstanbul (2000) and “Karaname”,
Gallery Apel, İstanbul (1999).
Gürbüz has
also participated in many national and international group exhibitions
including “Small Faces, Large Sizes”, Proje 4L Elgiz Museum of Contemporary
Art, Istanbul (2015); “Another Time, Another Place”, Rose Issa Projects, London
(2013); “Artists in Their Time” (2015-2016), “Dream and Reality” (2011), “From
Traditional to Contemporary” (2010), “New Works, New Horizons” (2009) and
“Modern Experiences” (2008), İstanbul Modern, İstanbul; “Cara a Cara”
(travelling show), with Marco Del Re, Galerie Maeght, Paris and Barcelona
(2003); “Fantaisies du Harem et les Nouvelles Shéhérazades” (travelling show),
Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona and Museum of Natural History, Lyon
(2003); “Le Cirque” (travelling show), Gérard-Georges Lemaire, Editions Eric
Koehler, Athenee-Theatre Louis Jouvet, Paris, Espace Mira Phalaina, Montreuil
and Novomestka Radnice, Prague (1996). Her other projects include “Shadow
theatre design for ‘More Wind’”, Portside Gallery, Yokohama (2005) and
“Futurist Stage Curtain Design”, Revues Parlées, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
(1996).“Automatic Games”, Kwangju Biennale, Korea (1995) and “L’Orient des
Cafés” (travelling show), French Cultural Centre, Cairo, Alexandria, Athens,
Thessaloniki, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv (1992).
Selma Gürbüz
lives and works in İstanbul, Turkey.
http://www.rampaistanbul.com/en/artist/selma-gurbuz/#works_in_exhibition_4991
