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In and out of Istanbul Featuring Erdag Aksel, Hale Tenger, Elif Ayiter, Osman Dinc, Selim Birsel, Canan Tolon, Michael Morris Slought Foundation Exhibition | December 10 – January 09, 2009 Reception: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 ; 6:30-8:30pm Curated by Osvaldo Romberg |
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Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, is pleased to announce In and Out of Istanbul, on display in the Slought Foundation galleries from December 10, 2008-January 9, 2009. The exhibition highlights contemporary artistic practice in Turkey and is curated by Osvaldo Romberg, Slought Foundation. The opening reception will take place on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 from 6:30-8:30pm, with the artists present. This program is made possible through the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Society of Friends of the Slought Foundation. The exhibition In and Out of Istanbul at Slought Foundation is among the first of its kind in the United States and focuses on the issues and conflicts that define modern Turkish identity, with particular emphasis given to the extreme social and political tensions. It features the work of seven artists including Erdag Aksel, Hale Tenger, Elif Ayiter, Osman Dinc, Selim Birsel, Canan Tolon, and Michael Morris. Indeed, for the first time in Philadelphia, Slought Foundation is presenting a group exhibition devoted to contemporary art made by artists who live in and out of Istanbul. The exhibition is by no means an extensive thematic exhibition representing a summary of contemporary art in Istanbul or Turkish art. In fact, the artistic selection clearly avoids permanent residencies or entrenched nationalist alliances. The artists selected are not necessarily Turkish and in fact several reside in Istanbul, while others reside elsewhere, in other cities. Elif Ayiter, Erdag Aksel, Hale Tenger and Selim Birsel live primarily in Istanbul, Canan Tolon in San Francisco, Michael Morris in New York City, and Osman Dinc in Paris. The common denominator is that all of these transient artists frequently live, work, and exhibit in and out of Istanbul. The exhibit therefore has the dual aim of giving visibility and space to this emerging and vigorous artistic culture, but also paying homage to a city that spans two continents. Straddling the narrow Bosporus Strait, Istanbul links the great land masses of Europe and Asia. Indeed, since its founding as Byzantium in 657 B.C. the city has functioned as a crossroads between East and West for numerous people of varying cultures and backgrounds. In like manner, the exhibition at Slought aims to explore these ideas, providing a meditation on transience and mobility. Slought Foundation | Concepts for Contemporary Life http://slought.org | Contact: Aaron Levy, Executive Director (info@slought.org) |
