 An Opening.
This week, I want to talk about an exhibition opening that I had the opportunity to attend
at the Modern Art Center (Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi) in Ankara: "HU(WO)MANITY."
The artist, Sevestet Alispahi, is a student of the famed Eyüp Rahmi Eyüpoğlu. Prior to
the opening, Ms. Alispahi discussed with me about how her paintings were statements on
violence towards women, and the challenges woman face in general within society. Hands and
faces tend to be the main focal. She tended to use only red in her depictions of violence
at the beginning. After some time, however, she began to incorporate other colors as well:
blues, greens and purples. Eyüpoğlu taught her that color was the most important tools
of a painter, followed by form.
Upon entering the exhibition hall, I was greeted by an enormous painting - distorted
crimson faces, screaming silently, trapped within the bounds of their canvassed  world.
The smoky bodies evoked a sense of horror and violent death. The picture can be broken
into two distinct parts - the first is a color and content dense section that acts as an
anchor and portrays a sense of death, while the upper area that utilizes more white space
acts to illustrate concepts of pain. Even though the painting is called "Caos,"
there is a defined curvy path that works its way across her creation.
Alisphahi incorporates a variety of mediums, including acrylic and oil paints, plaster of
paris and white glue. By combining these materials, she has been able to create
interesting patterns and textures that prove to be extraordinarily dynamic. This lends a
sense of "realness," as if the manipulated figures are actually trying to burst
out of the picture. You can see it, and if you touch the surface, you can almost feel it.
The content of her work, her unique approach, and the ideologies of Ms. Sevestet Alispahi,
made this an interesting experience for me. Her art can be seen or online at http://www.sevestet.com/index.html
I fare you well for now…
Alev Değim (COMD/III)
contactinspector@yahoo.com
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