When He Came Back to His Senses, the Monster Was Still Waiting in Front of the Cave: Serkan Özkaya

Serkan Özkaya’s new works will be on view at Galerist. The artist’s solo-show opening on the 14th of September has an interesting title: “When He Came Back to His Senses the Monster was Still Waiting in Front of the Cave!” Özkaya says that he had taken the phrase out of Calvino’s anthology of fictions, and that it is the shortest tale known to the world.

The content of the exhibition is diverse. Özkaya’s sculpture “Baker’s Apprentice” which was shown in Bern Kunsthalle, the floor piece “Star with Six Fingers”, photographical documentation of his public works, the Smily Face furnitures and different video Works, all illustrate how assorted his tools are. Some of the artist’s works have been shown in an exhibition in Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin last month, and the artist has published a book titled “Have you ever done anything right?” comprising his conversations with Willoughby Sharp for the occasion of his two solo shows. On March 2006 the artist had made a book out of his conversations with Halil Altındere titled “Oh no! It doesn’t work out! I can’t do it” that puts forth an interesting point of view on art and on the art institutions. The book touches upon the issues of conformism in art, betrayal, advocacy, education, institutions and contemporary art exhibitions.