BY AUDREY PARMENTIER (IR/III)
The opening of the exhibition “A Naive Gaze at the Metropolis” was held on November 13 at 6 p.m. in the Library Art Gallery. This exhibition has brought together the work of two artists, Zeynep San and Betül Bapir.
Both of them share the same fascination with and fondness for İstanbul, so it was very interesting to compare their separate views of the same city. The exhibition is varied; next to the representation of a crowded street, you can see a beautiful landscape of the Bosphorus during summer. This “naive gaze” is expressed by colorful and luminous paintings. Everything is perfect and peaceful.
One of the most surprising things, after viewing the exhibit, was to learn that Ms. Bapir has never taken painting lessons; this form of art was something “natural” for her. In her paintings, she wishes to express happiness, which is why she uses warm colors like red and orange. Her love of old buildings is also shown in her work.
Overall, the exhibition is rich and at the same time poetic, in the sense that it presents the evolution of İstanbul and especially this particular relationship between the artist and the city. It is not by accident that a poem by Juhani Pallasmaa, “The Eyes of the Skin,” was displayed on the wall of the gallery. The exhibition may be summarized in one of his sentences: “I dwell in the city and the city dwells in me.”