Dec 17-23, 2022

This exhibition presents new  sculptures by master sculptor Yücel Kale and several digital  paintings by Yasemin Cengiz Cagatay.

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In this exhibition, Yücel Kale delves into the  preoccupations of Surrealism as usual. He also shares the belief with the Romantics that nature is a deeply spiritual force. His 'Crocodile', this lyrical and provocative work draws from previous, smaller compositions  sculpted just prior, and encompasses the recurrent forms of a supernatural reptile, almost alive in pastel tones. For a Romantic like him, the natural world is also full of shadows, decay, mystery and ghosts. The series address the realm of poetry, and are characterized by a light palette and charged, mysterious atmospheres. The artist's works endeavor to capture the poetic imagination, and suggest that moments of reflection allow the ordinary to become extraordinary.It is clear that Kale suggests a 'back to nature' perspective.He carves his sculptures from wood and semi-precious stones and paints them in pastel-hued acrylics and oil paint to shiny perfection. Kale uses  many found objects including wooden and metal spoons, antlers. A recurring motif in the artist's practice is the animal form: these sculptures are often identified as an attempt by the artist to reach out to his childhood self.The installation invites the viewer to completely immerse themselves in the artist's dreamworld and to share in the happiness experienced by the artist.

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Darkness and light, the known and unknown, are all forces that coexist in Yasemin Cengiz Cagatay's works, creating otherworldly, rich images, regions defined by the outer reaches of imagination, and a nature rendered both familiar and strange.   In her paintings,  shimmering landscapes encounter a floating dandelion seed, which seems to possess a luminous magic. In other works, we approach the edges of dense foliage in an ominous gloom, a torch carving shards of light through the leaves. Flowers inhabit these territories: landscapes full of the fantastical somehow borne of the banal. Darkness and light, the known and unknown, are all forces that coexist in Cagatay's works, creating otherworldly, rich images, regions defined by the outer reaches of imagination, and a nature rendered both familiar and strange. Inspired by her experiences in her garden, Cagatay's works endeavor to capture the poetic imagination, and suggest that moments of reflection allow the ordinary to become extraordinary.The giant  flora unfolds in all its psychedelic glory, it is in these most recently developed works - which encapsulate the surreal and the instinctual within the pop and the decorative - that we find an extension of the artist's practice that is as fresh and provocative as ever.Cagatay's work is instantly recognizable for her signature use of obsessively repeated curvaceous forms - dots and nets- which can be traced back to childhood paintings in which multiplying forms encompassed the universe.

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Yücel Kale is an Istanbul based established artist,  who began his artistic career two decades ago studying sculpture at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts  University, Istanbul (1993-2000). The foundations of today's sculpture mastery were laid in the jeweler's workshop, which he entered as an apprentice while still in secondary school. In 1997 Kale had his first large-scale solo presentation with C.A.M Art Gallery, Istanbul. His work has been exhibited  solo or as part of group exhibitions internationally at art fairs -Art New York 2017 , Aqua Art Miami 2017, SOFA Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design, New York (2008), ST-ART Strasbourg Contemporary Art Fair, France (2009), Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany (2008), Asia Pacific Leather Fair Hong Kong(2014), Contemporary Istanbul (2006,2012, 2013, 2021)-; at museums, -Museum Der Arbeit in Hamburg, Germany(2009) and Santa Maria della Scala Museum, Siena Italy(2008); at Portside Gallery in Yokohama, and at Youkobo, Japan(2004). The artist had also many solo exhibitions nationally,  at many established galleries including Galeri Apel, C.A.M. Art Gallery, Galeri Selvin, Imoga Art Space and Siyah Beyaz Art Gallery. His works are held in private collections, and he continues to work at his Kadıköy studio in İstanbul.

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Yasemin Cengiz Cagatay grew up in Istanbul with an art teacher mother who surrounded her with paintings and art history books. She taught her painting as a child, and introduced her the work of the masters, which inspired the artist from a young age; leading to national art prizes - including a first prize in a nation wide art competition when she was a high school senior. She has studied from 11 to 19 years old in Lycée de Galatasaray, a major establishment having formed the politicians and artists of the country. She had the opportunity to use the school’s art studio on the Bosphorus exclusively. The French influence she received in this centuries old school with a blend of French and Turkish curricula reflects in her paintings. She has been invited to the major art academy of the country, and studied at Bosphorus University Business School; which also taught a rich humanities program. The artist pursued an executive career working as a management committee member for multinational companies, and quit to indulge in her passion for art. She gave herself a tailored art education, living in art centers - Paris, London and New York- and studied contemporary art at the programs of IESA Paris, Sotheby’s Institute of Art London and New York.  She then had exhibited her work both solo or in group at the gallery she co-founded and at Contemporary Istanbul 2014,2019 , 2020 and 2021 and also in Scope New York 2020 with a solo presentation.

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Kethüda Hammam,Ortaköy Istanbul 
 

About the Artists

Works