Exhibition Press Releases and Me (2): What Happened at Pera Museum?
After visiting Frank Bowling: Creation and Destruction at Pera Museum; an essay on promised compasses, abstract-figurative dichotomies, and Bacon and Willing's interruptions.
On Being Late
The tension between market time (Chronos) and inner existential time (Kairos); an essay on Cézanne, Hokusai, Mimar Sinan, and the true meaning of being late.
Museum, Exhibition Hall, or Amusement Park?
A critical essay on the mutation of art spaces into adult amusement parks driven by the experience economy; immersive illusion rooms, selfie traps, and turning one's back to the artwork.
Remembering Süleyman Saim Tekcan
A tribute to Süleyman Saim Tekcan, master of Turkish printmaking and founder of IMOGA, reflecting on personal encounters, his artistic generosity, and timeless humility.
Between Looking at the East and Constructing the East: Osman Hamdi at the Met
A critical essay on the Metropolitan Museum's 'Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy' exhibition, Osman Hamdi Bey's staged Orientalist compositions, and the myth of the 'insider gaze'.
Exhibition Press Releases and Me: A Review on Frank Bowling, Francis Bacon, and Victor Willing
A critical and humorous reading of the curatorial press release for 'Frank Bowling: Creation and Destruction' (September 29, 2026 - January 31, 2027) at Pera Museum, exploring the repetition of 'anew', searching for compasses, and making peace with exhibition texts.
Refusing Algorithmic Perfection: The Search for "Visible Humanity" on Canvas
In the face of AI-generated frictionless imagery; an essay on the radical resurgence of the canvas, the painter's touch, and 'visible humanity' across contemporary art, figurative painting, and contemporary artists in Turkey.
On Consensusless Communication
Art is a consensusless communication. An essay exploring the epistemic limit of language, felt knowledge, tacit knowledge, and tangent contact as an encounter with truth.
Where the Wardrobe Outprices the Home: Notes on Contemporary Istanbul 21
A personal reflection following Contemporary Istanbul 21 at Tersane Istanbul: balancing a luxury store jacket against a painting on the wall, 90s digital effects, the repetition of textiles, sculptures by Plensa and Johnny Depp, art-washing, and the sociology of a sanitized art fair.
Raqib Shaw, "Night Sonnets": Miniature Tradition at Midnight
Raqib Shaw's 'Night Sonnets' at White Cube Mason's Yard: Indo-Persian miniature heritage, industrial enamel surfaces, and nocturnal horror vacui.