Modern and Beyond

Designed as the opening exhibition for santralistanbul, “Modern and Beyond” covered the history of art in Turkey during the fifty-year period between 1950 and 2000. Curated by Fulya Erdemci, Semra Germaner, Orhan Koçak and Zeynep Rona, the exhibition brought together some 500 works by more than a hundred artists and artist groups with the aim of presenting and discussing the process of transformation which artistic production in Turkey underwent since the 1950s. Initially scheduled to run for six months between 9 September 2007 and 29 February 2008, the exhibition has later been extended through 15 June 2008 due to intense interest.

Providing an historical overview of the fifty years of modern and contemporary art in Turkey, “Modern and Beyond” enabled  reconsidering Turkey’s experience with modernisation through the medium of art, further relating this experience to the present and finally opening it to discussion. With its chronological structure, the exhibition featured not only established tools of expression such as painting and sculpture, but also forms such as installation, photography, video and the new media.

“Modern and Beyond,” which drew attention to the roots, milestones and major problematics of half a century in Turkey’s modern and contemporary art history, provided a platform for reinterpreting art history through a series of panel discussions organised in conjunction with the exhibition. A monographic approach to the artists has been adopted and the works were carefully selected both to reveal the artists’ own development in time and to indicate the resulting shifts in the history of art.

“Modern and Beyond” exhibition offered art lovers a wide selection of works compiled from nearly fifty museums, institutions and private collections.