Habip Aydoğdu is presenting his works in Istanbul with his solo exhibition titled "A Testimony of a Color," at Brieflyart Art Gallery, from January 13th to February 22nd, 2026, after a ten-year hiatus.
Habip Aydoğdu, while producing his works in Nusaybin district of Mardin during his military service, created his paintings with fountain pens and red stamp ink due to a lack of materials. Perhaps this is why he initially associates red with scarcity. Perhaps this is a detail from both the artist's personal history and the fate of the country.
Just as black is to Malevich from Russia, Rothko from America, and blue to Yves Klein from France, red is to Habip Aydoğdu from Turkey. "Habip Red" is an expression of both himself and metaphor, born from the accidental nature of scarcity. In Habip Aydoğdu's works, red becomes the color of rebellion, love, migration, wars, affection, peace, restlessness, pride, power, and mystery.
Therefore, if we are to speak of the testimony of a color, or of a color in Habip Aydoğdu's work, that color is first and foremost red: stamp red, deep red, blood red, and then a red that incorporates black. In Habip Aydoğdu's paintings, color and space tell the story of his artist's perspective. Just as space is an all-encompassing area, an unlived time and a concept beyond existence, transcending its dictionary meaning; color is equally present here and now, possessing the power to express not only itself but every tone of the human mind and sensation, a phenomenon that exists within space but simultaneously devours it.
The exhibition catalog includes an essay by Art Historian and Critic Nilgün Yüksel, as well as an essay by Journalist, Writer, and Art Critic Doğan Hızlan. Art historian and critic Nilgün Yüksel describes the artist's works as follows: “In Aydoğdu's creation, emptiness is the carrier of composition, and color is the carrier of narrative. In his works, where other colors often come to life on the surface as accompaniments, red and black represent dramatic intensity and sensation; sudden bursts of color and gestural expressions determine the rhythm. The surface, where narrative, expression, and movement intertwine, transforms into a lived, living scene.”
In his paintings, the testimony is not only the artist's testimony but also the testimony of color. Color is the testimony of humanity's storytelling through painting, of the transformation of its intellectual and sensory world, and of the traces left behind by civilizations. Color is a witness to humanity's march, and undoubtedly, among thousands of sensations, tones, and nuances, the oldest witnesses are red and black.
In an interview, Habip Aydoğdu states, “Art is a process of articulation; nothing emerges instantly, everything transforms through accumulation.” He doesn't just leave this statement as words; he demonstrates the fertile nature of art through his own creative process. First, he transfers his own experiences—lived and unlived, the chaos of the mind and sensations—to the canvas. Then, he leaves it alone with “the testimony of a color.”
The exhibition, which will open to the public on January 13, 2026, can be visited at Brieflyart Art Gallery until February 22, 2026, weekdays (except Mondays) and Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sundays from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Source: https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/habip-aydogdu-nun-bir-rengin-tanikligi-sergisi-sanatseverlerle-bulusuyor-2469355