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artist collaborations
we aim to establish a horizontal, dialogue- and communication-based relationship with our artists, and act in line with their needs and their vision. our involvement spans project development for art production, exhibitions, aligning artworks with the appropriate platforms, conducting value analyses, and cataloguing. a deep understanding of the story of each artist as well as of their work enables us to be compelling narrators when connecting artists with art lovers/collectors.
elmas deniz
Elmas Deniz
1981/ Bergama, Artist, lives and works in Istanbul
Deniz's concept-oriented artworks explore the intersections between economy and nature, and the points where the two are intertwined. She concentrates on the relationship between humans and nature, investigating how our perception of nature has evolved throughout history and emphasising contemporary ecological concerns. She offers insights into various value systems, highlighting themes of inequality, poverty, and consumerism. Her artworks reflect on themes of loss, transformation, and extinction in different landscapes, highlighting the disparities between human and non-human realms. While critically exposing fallacies in commonly held value judgements, she asks whether a new kind of relationship with nature can be imagined and how far its possibilities can be extended.
Her works have been exhibited at the 16th and 14th Istanbul Biennials, 2015; Colomboscope, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2017; and the 5th Gyumri Biennial, Yerevan, Armenia, 2006. Deniz's most recent solo exhibitions include A Conversation on Insect Island at Bilsart, 2020 and Three Colours of Water at Zilberman, Istanbul, 2019. Her work has been exhibited at Schloss Museum Moyland, Germany, 2023; Sonje Art Centre and Boan Art Space 1942, Seoul, 2022; D21 Kunstraum, Leipzig, 2022; Videocity, Dresden, Lyon, Basel, 2021-2022; OMM-Odunpazarı Modern Museum, Eskişehir, 2021; Pera Museum, Istanbul, 2020; MOCAK-Krakow Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, 2019; Arter, Istanbul, 2019; Istanbul Modern, 2016; Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, 2016; DEPO, Istanbul, 2016; SALT, Istanbul 2015; SECESSION, Museumsquartier, Vienna, 2013; La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille, 2010; Montehermoso, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2009; and Platform Garanti CAC, Istanbul, 2005.
In 2003, Deniz graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Department of Painting, and Izmir Fine Arts Anatolian High School in 1998. She is also one of the founders of K2 Contemporary Art Centre in Izmir. She participated in the 2023 SAHA Studio Programme, won the IASPIS Artist Fellowship in 2014 and the Cultural Fellowship of the Goethe Institute Berlin in 2007, and has been an artist in residence at institutions such as Pistoletto Foundation IT, 2011; DIVA Copenhagen, DK, 2008 and Vassl, Karachi, PK, 2006, AIWA Lebanon, 2005.
Mistake I and II (2016) İstanbul
Two plastic bags of similar colour. Both are made of biodegradable plastic. Bag I takes thousands of years to break down, while Bag II takes only a few years. Unfortunately, neither is compostable and cannot be turned into organic matter.
Seeing the Black Panther (2014) Stockholm-Istanbul
An object installation on our perception and images of wildlife. The photograph of a small-sized found black panther placed on a black background emphasises how we miss seeing the animal due to our indifferent attitude towards wildlife, which is ingrained in our culture, while the luminous lens Deniz placed in front of the photograph makes this subject visible both physically and symbolically.
Images; Pilot, installation view from Istanbul.
Photo: Rıdvan Bayrakoğlu
Paid Work (2014) Stockholm-İstanbul
We distinguish money in a certain way.
Let us imagine a table full of books, papers, pens and other items. If there is money on the table, it immediately attracts our attention. In this work, Deniz hides money to underline this attitude and invite us to rethink the hierarchies of our perception.
The Moment of glimpse [insignificants], İstanbul, 2019
A new version of Deniz's installation History of an Unnamed Stream (2019), which was exhibited at the 16th Istanbul Biennial, The Moment You Can Look exhibits small organic and inorganic objects collected by the artist from nature. By bringing the neglected to light, making it visible and even valuable, she demonstrates her determination not to exclude the politically disregarded.
Made to be Seen, (2018), Colombo-Istanbul
This series borrows from the conceptual roots of advertisements and commercials, especially of luxury consumer goods. The product advertised in the video is a 'real unsellable thing', in this case the green natural beauty of Sri Lanka... Deniz wants to focus on how advertising has been a fundamental tool of manipulation through the use of language over the centuries and plays with the ways in which nature has become a popular element in advertising today.
The video was produced for the Colomboscope festival exhibition "Re/evolution" in 2017 and supported by SAHA and the Embassy of Turkey in Colombo.
