In the Light of Casual Culture: Yeşim Akdeniz
Yeşim Akdeniz Graf who continues her work in Germany, introduces a “fictional” segment of society to the observers, in her second solo exhibition at Galerist, titled “In the Light of Casual Culture”. You can see the exhibition at Galerist from March 01–29.
The artist says, “You can identify the characteristics of a society by looking at its soap operas,” and she questions the characters and their lives that she created with the style of a soap opera, also by narrating their roles (of women and men) in the society, sexuality in developing urban life, post-feminism, social scale, the relation between nature and culture, belief systems, addictions, instincts and desires… This soap opera is positioned as an extension of artist’s research on modern society. In every segment of the exhibition another part of the character’s life is told, and it is expected from the observer to speculate about the possible relationships of characters with each other: Intrigues, love, broken hearts…
While combining the history and daily life with each other as usual, in her new exhibition, Yeşim Akdeniz Graf easily spreads the traces of the 20th Century cultural history like post modern architecture, cubism and art deco, into social themes. As a result, she synthesizes the stories of these characters that pose their lives in their personal acts with the 20th Century. Historical becomes personal, personal becomes historical. You can see the works of the artist who adds forms that were cut out of cardboard, shiny spangles, various papers, acrylic and oil paint to her paintings and has a very eclectic approach to materials, at Galerist.
