Art is hidden in the ability of artists to interpret the existing universe in their minds. These creative minds can produce a new world out of goings-on or can reveal a nonexistent universe through every detail that has inspired them. Therefore, all elements of life can serve as a muse to their imaginative power, adding diversity to their art.
The works of Turkish artist Serra Erdoğan are the embodiment of this diversity. When you examine the artist’s paintings closely, you see the elaborate touch of every single detail applied by her to the canvas. Each color in the pieces is primed to take you on a journey in a different world. You may hear the lament of a woman or feel the enthusiasm of an epic and the poignant destruction of war in these travels.
When a line, a pattern or a shape is drawn or a word, a poem or a folk song is uttered, these outcomes feature a different meaning for artists as they awaken different feelings and thoughts in the people they address. The futuristic works by Erdoğan open the doors of unique worlds for viewers. A different detail of the works catches your eyes every time you look at them.
Erdoğan got interested in art when she was just a high school student. While she was enjoying novels and poetry, over time a passion for colors sprung up in her soul. Therefore, she became an artist, dedicating herself to the magic of words and colors, although she is also a computer engineer by profession. The artist has published 16 books, including poetry, essays, research and novels to date, along with preparing various exhibitions.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, Erdoğan said that anything in life might inspire her to produce a work of art suddenly. Creating her paintings with a futuristic perspective, the artist said: “In fact, my futurist perspective is also fed by my observations in life. As an artist, I follow life in all details, and an action whispers what will happen in the future to me. At this point, as a futurist, I try to see the future by combining the past with the present.”
Nevertheless, the urge to produce realistic solutions to society and humanity's basic, especially chronic problems, is what most inspires Erdoğan. Therefore, anthropology, history, sociology are the primary sources of inspiration for her. The artist generally dives into the depths of these studies to learn more details to get inspired. She shows her upcoming exhibition titled “Adalet” (“Justice”) as an example of this creative process. The artist said that she researched many things, from the mystical role of Prophet Solomon to the dreams of Prophet Joseph, to shed light on the concept of justice in this show.
Erdoğan’s latest exhibition, “Matmazel” (“Mademoiselle”), also provides an example of the artist’s elaborate work for her exhibitions. The show was launched in the office of Facial Plastic Surgeon associate professor Gürkan Kayabaşoğlu’s office in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı. You may think that a surgeon and an artist cannot collaborate, but you will find out that they certainly can.
Telling the opening story of the show, Erdoğan said: “Kayabaşoğlu is a surgeon who has a unique perspective for the arts. Although he is a facial surgeon, he performs his job and is talented like an artist. Like he always says, one can see the hands of a surgeon are like the hands of an artist. Indeed, the unifying power of art brought us together. Wherever you walk in the corridor of his office, you feel like you are in the middle of a huge gallery. While we thought about why we couldn't bring two arts and two artists together at first, this idea that excited us suddenly turned into reality with the 'Matmazel' exhibition.”
Works of art that feature the reflexes of different societies that lived in futurist-based history and social issues that the artists want to highlight make up “Matmazel.” The main piece of the show, comprising of colorful paintings, is “Matmazel Istanbul” (“Mademoiselle Istanbul”). The painting brings together views from Istanbul and its archaic history while it blends these views with the concept of woman.
Actually, each work of the show has its own distinct character. When one visits the exhibition, one will encounter heroes hidden in a colorful world. The artist said: “The show is like eating the most beautiful desserts in the world lined up on a table. In one painting, visitors will be refreshed while they will be lost in dreams in another.”
The exhibition will continue to be exhibited permanently in Kayabaşoğlu's office as a part of the venue.
