Bringing together works by 24 artists from the Arter Collection, 'The Sky Was Sugared' reinterprets the concepts of 'home' and 'nest' through the lens of memory, imagination, and journey.
Arter's new group exhibition, "The Sky Was Sugared," curated by Selen Ansen, brings together works by 24 artists from the Arter Collection. Comprising diverse disciplines such as painting, photography, sculpture, video, and installation, the selection explores the concepts of "home" and "nest" not merely as physical spaces, but as multi-layered living spaces shaped by memory, imagination, and journey experiences.
The exhibition, open to visitors on the fourth floor gallery of Arter from June 24th, features works by Melike Abasıyanık Kurtiç, Adel Abidin, Lene Adler Petersen, Ahu Akgün, Francesco Albano, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Gökhun Baltacı, Yto Barrada, Mehtap Baydu, Elina Brotherus, Fatma Bucak, Elif Erkan, Ayşe Erkmen, Dan Graham, Karl Horst Hödicke, Fatoş İrwen, Arthur Köpcke, Inge Mahn, Yıldız Moran, Ahmet Öğüt, Sophia Pompéry, Gerhard Rühm, Stéphanie Saade, and Stefan Wewerka.
Selected from the Arter Collection, some of which have recently been added to the collection, the works invite the viewer into a multifaceted realm of thought, ranging from homes interwoven with childhood memories to homes left behind, from geographies that shape the sense of belonging to journeys undertaken in hopes of a better life. The works, brought together under a single roof, reveal the tensions between earth and sky, past and future, rootedness and rootlessness through constantly shifting perspectives between indoor and outdoor spaces.
The exhibition's title is inspired by the 1938 poem "Songs I" by American poet E. E. Cummings. The phrase "The Sky Was Sugared" refers to the power of memory and imagination to transform reality, while poetically framing the exhibition's central theme of finding a home, returning home, and the search for belonging.
The works in the exhibition interpret the concepts of "home" and "homeland" not as fixed spaces or lost paradises, but as living relationships constantly re-established through time, memory, and experience. Inviting viewers to rethink the concept of belonging beyond geography and ownership in today's world shaped by geopolitical ruptures, migration movements, and borders, the exhibition offers the opportunity to explore the personal, cultural, historical, and political layers of the idea of home.
Source: https://tr.euronews.com/kultur/2026/07/03/arterin-yeni-sergisi-gokyuzu-sekerdendi-ev-ve-aidiyet-kavramlarini-odagina-aliyor