ERDOĞAN ZÜMRÜTOĞLU, TIME FOR THE SALT: PILEVNELI | MECİDİYEKÖY

PILEVNELI Gallery is pleased to present a new body of works by Erdoğan Zümrütoğlu, on view at its Mecidiyeköy location in Istanbul between September 10 – October 27, 2019 in a new exhibition titled “Time for The Salt”.

In the piece he has written for the artist’s new exhibition, German art writer and critic Hans Irrek points out the past of Pilevneli Gallery’s Mecidiyeköy location: “Erdogan Zümrütoğlu’s exhibition ‘Time for The Salt’ takes place in a legendary setting. Where? At the Liquor Factory in Mecidiyeköy, Istanbul, which was built in 1930 by Robert Mallet- Stevens with a global sense of architectural style. After having been carefully preserved for years, the factory was finally renovated completely by architect Emre Arolat for a glamorous finish. Anyone who sees the exhilarating ambiance of this space can much better understand why the gallery’s founder Murat Pilevneli has put up such an effort to display the artist’s paintings there and how smart his decision was. Zümrütoğlu’s gigantic paintings can only breathe and radiate their effect at such a setting.

As for Zümrütoğlu’s paintings and new exhibition, Irrek comments: “In recent years, even when evaluated on an international scale, we have rarely seen artists who on one hand possess the traditions of contemporary renowed artists’ yet who on the other hand prove unyielding in terms of setting an example with their style and color palette. We are mesmerized when we come across drawings that rise from artists’ distinctive mythology. Even though we occasionally encounter artworks that remind us of Bacon, Dubuffet or Dutch artist Appel’s wild, natural and unchained creativity, after a thorough study of these artworks, we find that these similarities fade and disappear rapidly.

When evaluated in this context, we see that Erdoğan Zümrütoğlu’s paintings have a charming effect that emotionally captivates its viewers. The creatures, figures, portraits he has designed, freely move on the canvas and fully reflect the energy the artist has relayed. Such that one feels the universal potential and boundaries of the art of painting expand in parallel with the artist’s area of intellectual interests and level of education.

Zümrütoğlu, with his interest in philosophy flowing into his love for music and poetry, has created a giant inspiration pool that gives shape to his new paintings. Yet, one must not forget that one other important element that feeds this inspiration pool is the artist’s psychological and emotional state.

When Zümrütoğlu’s fast brush strokes and portraits that dissociate in the colors’ dynamics are inspected, it’s as if he does not want to expose his artwork’s every single detail; you get the impression that it’s as if he is trying to protect them from a brutal reality. The artist’s mentioned approach reminds us of Giacometti, who, by evaluating paintings as an everlasting design process, does not give creativity an opportunity of true completion.

The artist, instead of getting lost in numerous narrow-visioned concepts, has become one of the rare talents to prove himself on an international scale by freely reflecting his vision on the canvas’ vast spaces. With this style, it can be said that Erdogan moves on  the line of a tradition that expands from Monet’s water lilies to Barnett Newman who concretizes visual experiences for his viewers to see the spaces in his dreams.