Küçükçekmece Municipality is putting its signature on a very prestigious project in the art realm. The works of world-famous names from Francisco Goya to Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu and Avni Arbaş will be on display at the exhibition titled "My Collection."
Compiled from the collections of Turkey's leading artists, the show taking place at the Küçükçekmece Municipality Cennet Culture and Art Center features a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, engravings, photographs and modern media. The exhibition opened its doors on March 19 and will continue until April 20. The event allows modern artists to share their collections from the past with younger future generations, fueling an atmosphere of cultural transfer.
It is the first time the works of Marcel Duchamp, one of the pioneers of the Dada art movement, will be exhibited in Turkey. Duchamp is renowned for his rejection of stereotypes and conventional art patterns and for standing against the bourgeoisification of art and cultural values.
The prints of Alberto Giacometti, a legendary name of the Paris school, and the patterns of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu have traveled from Paris for the exhibition from the collection of Turkish painter Onay Akbaş, who lives in the French capital. Dali prints from Doğan Paksoy's collection and Francisco Goya engravings from Süleyman Saim Tekcan's collection, one of the most important figures in art history, are being showcased in the exhibition.
Istanbul's Küçükçekmece, ancient Bathonea, is a suburb on the European side of the Marmara Sea that surrounds a lagoon named Lake Küçükçekmece.
Commenting on the exhibition bringing together the paintings of 18 artists and their collections, Küçükçekmece Municipality Culture and Social Affairs Director Güney Özkılınç said, "The people of Küçükçekmece and Istanbulities are very lucky. It is a very important collection and we are hosting it. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this field, all our painters, who contributed to this exhibition both with their paintings, their collections.”
The curator of "My Collection," Erkan Doğanay, who serves as a visual art consultant to Küçükçekmece Municipality, explained that "Until now, we have always exhibited works made by artists. Here we tried to get to the root of this a little bit more. Objects that the artists collected, influenced them, collected in their archives, maybe contributed to their art. We exhibited the paintings. All those who collect are living artists."
