Encounters on the Bosporus:
Blind Date Istanbul
presents new acquisitions to the Deutsche Bank Collection
The
Orient meets the Occident: the exhibition "Blind Date Istanbul" ventures
an unusual experiment, combining current new acquisitions to the Deutsche
Bank Collection with Ottoman calligraphies from the famous Sakip Sabanci
Collection. In the historical surroundings of a former villa situated on
the Bosporus, Franz
Ackermann meets Mustafa
Rakim, Eva Hesse
Hasan
Riza.
Franz
Ackermann, untitled (mental map: bayview), 1994
Deutsche
Bank Collection
Mustafa
Rakim, untitled calligraphy, late 18th - early 19th century
Sakip
Sabanci Müzesi
The former residence
of the industrial magnate Sakip
Sabanci lies at the center of Istanbul's Emirgan quarter. Surrounded
by a magnificent garden, the villa has served as a museum
of Ottoman calligraphy since 2002. Now, the show Blind Date Istanbul
can be seen in the historical residence with a view to the Bosporus –
probably one of the more unusual exhibitions the Deutsche Bank Collection
has ever presented itself in. Blind Date Istanbul departs from the
path of conventional art presentation to risk an experiment: in
approximately 50 pairs, curated by Nazan Ölzer and Dr. Ariane Grigoteit,
Ottoman calligraphies
encounter the primarily abstract works from the largest corporate
collection worldwide to engage in a dialogue in which art from the present
and the past, the Orient and the Occident meet and the history of a city
is juxtaposed with the history of a collection.
Francis
Alÿs, untitled (from: When Faith Moves Mountains), 2002
Deutsche
Bank Collection
Faik,
untitled calligraphy, 1903
Sakip
Sabanci Müzesi
Istanbul was a
very deliberate choice for this show. Europe and Asia are only 660 meters
apart from one another on the Bosporus, and for many centuries, the city
has witnessed a rich exchange between east and west. Yet the booming
metropolis is not just a financial center; it is also Turkey's cultural
hub. The modern city of 16 million inhabitants has more to offer than its
testimonies to a splendid past, such as the Hagia
Sophia or the Topkapi Palace.
Increasing attention has been paid to contemporary art here over the past
several years. Istanbul's internationally connected art academies are
supported by a series of recently founded significant institutions:
following the opening of Istanbul
Modern in 2005 as the first museum for contemporary art, a highly
successful contemporary art fair followed last year, while a number of
young galleries have established themselves on the scene in the Beyoglu
quarter. The Istanbul
Biennale is widely regarded as one of the more renowned of its kind
and is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. But collectors'
initiative is also responsible for the fact that the city is increasingly
perceived as a lively center for art. The Sabanci Museum is privately
financed, while the Istanbul Modern, which has quickly become a meeting
point for the international art scene, is run by the Eczacibasi
family.
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Eva Hesse, untitled, 1961
Deutsche
Bank Collection
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Hasan Riza,
Physical
Characteristics of Mohammed, 1905
Sakip Sabanci Müzesi
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The Deutsche Bank Collection responds to this atmosphere of
emergence. Last year, as the art fair's main sponsor, it celebrated the
premiere of Contemporary
Istanbul; now, it presents select new acquisitions in Istanbul for the
first time. For Blind Date Istanbul, the director of the Sabanci
Museum, Nazan Ölcer, who previously ran the Museum for Turkish and Islamic
Art for 25 years, chose mainly current works from the bank collection to
juxtapose with a selection of priceless calligraphies from the museum's
collection. Calligraphy, the "art of writing beautifully," developed early
on into an art form with a surprising multitude of possibilities. It arose
out of the Moslem faith, which prohibits a pictorial representation of
humans. Its medium is the Arabic alphabet. The oldest works shown in the
exhibition date from the 16th century, the youngest from the mid-20th
century. The works from the Deutsche Bank Collection begin with Ernst-Ludwig
Kirchner's Bahnhof Königstein from 1917; the focus of the
selection, however, is on works of recent contemporary art such as Sylvie
Fleury's sculpture Mushroom, made in 2006, or drawings by Julie
Mehretu and Francis
Alÿs.
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Matt Saunders, Udo, 2004, series of
63 works
Deutsche Bank
Collection
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Anonymous, untitled calligraphy
18th
-19th century
Sakip Sabanci
Müzesi
In Blind Date Istanbul,
unusual juxtapositions make unexpected aspects visible. The course of the
exhibition leads to a fascinating encounter between the Orient and the
Occident – with surprising art historical influences, parallels, and
differences between the two cultural spheres. Nazan Ölcer however sees
more in the show than an interesting aesthetic rendezvous among
generations, movements, concepts, and styles. To her mind, Blind Date
Istanbul also sets a milestone in museum politics: "One that marks the
path for future cooperative projects with institutions in London, Paris,
and Berlin."
Sylvie
Fleury, Mushroom, 2006,
Deutsche
Bank Collection
Blind Date Istanbul
Sakip
Sabanci Müzesi/Museum
Istinye caddesi 22, Emirgan
Open
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday:
10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Closed
Monday.
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