The exhibition, which can be seen until April 9 at the Institut Français Istanbul Exhibition Hall on Istiklal Street, will also be open to visitors at the Doğan Taşdelen Contemporary Arts Center in Ankara between May 4-26.
The latest solo exhibition of illustrator and painter Selçuk Demirel, whose works attract worldwide attention and who currently continues his regular works in Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique and T24, is titled "Between Earth and Sky", opening at the French Cultural Center in Istanbul. The exhibition, which will be opened on Thursday, February 15 (tomorrow) at 19.00, with the participation of Demirel, who lives in Paris, will be open to visitors from Friday, February 16. The exhibition, which can be seen in Istanbul until April 9, will also be open to visitors at the Doğan Taşdelen Contemporary Arts Center in Ankara between May 4-26.
Selçuk Demirel, who deals with the problems of the climate crisis, the disintegrated/challenged human being by blending art and thought in his works in the exhibition, will be presenting his newly released album-book "Bram Başka Kediler" and his other books at Yapı Kredi Publications Bookstore on Istiklal Street, Istanbul, on Friday, February 16. will sign.
The exhibition can be seen at the Institut Français Istanbul Exhibition Hall on Istiklal Street between 10.00-18.00 every day until April 9, except Sundays.
The following statements are used in the promotional bulletin for the Selçuk Demirel exhibition titled "Between Earth and Sky / Antre Ciel et Terre":
“As part of the 9th edition of the Night of Ideas, which encourages discussion on the important issues of our time, Institut Français Turkey invites you to explore the world of artist Selçuk Demirel and reflect on the relationship between man and his environment through an exhibition of drawings that are as engaging as they are poetic.” . At the center of these evocative drawings is climate change, one of the most important issues of our time. The exhibition highlights the fragile beauty of our planet and raises awareness of environmental challenges. Each drawing represents a balance that reveals the diversity of ecosystems, the fragility of species, and the delicate connections that shape our common existence. The artist, who does not abandon his sense of humor, calls us to take action.”
Demirel evaluations from the exhibition catalog
The evaluations made regarding Selçuk Demirel's art and included in the catalog prepared for the exhibition are as follows:
"The exhibition 'Between Earth and Sky' by artist-illustrator Selçuk Demirel, presented by the French Cultural Center of Turkey in 2024, is the culmination of a program that transforms the questions raised by the environmental crisis into a privileged subject of expression and sharing between the art, science and academic communities and young people of the two countries." following its green course. This exhibition, which blends art and thought, works of yesterday and today, goes beyond this; It brings together and interconnects a multitude of different issues, creating an invaluable guide to our collective thinking.
At a time when the gloomy realities of life become overwhelming and every warning to take action paralyzes us, Selçuk's pen both soothes and revitalizes us. Because Selçuk Demirel expresses the softness and sharpness of a visionary poet. This retrospective takes us back to drawings dating back to the early 1990s, when the issue of the environment and sustainable development was beginning to be talked about internationally, but without the global and imperative awareness of today. For more than 30 years, the artist has been shaking us with poetic or searing images, sometimes giving us long advice, and often opening a path. It reactivates us, triggering a smile that brings us together and saves us. “With this exhibition tour, we want to pay homage to Selçuk's poetry, wishing that this humanity-filled, sharp poetry that characterizes his works will (re)inspire us.”
Sylvie Lemasson
Undersecretary of Cultural Activities and Cooperation, General Manager of the Turkish French Cultural Center
John Berger: Can't stand apart from his paintings
“Just as the beggar cannot be separated from his boots, he cannot be separated from his paintings. When you are with him, you are constantly convinced that the latest bad news is not the worst news. An answer is always possible... In a way, everything Selçuk sees happening on earth is happening to a body or a part of a body. As a result, we hear the event he decided to draw in the most intimate parts of our own body; Laughter, ridiculousness and pain get under our skin. Selçuk enters us. Not by getting upset, just by drawing with his finger dipped in ink.”
John Berger
Writer and art critic
Abidin Dino: A voracious interest in people
“Selçuk Demirel's job is, in a way, to keep a continuous diary... A type of diary consisting of lines, not words. Such lines that these are the tangled products of the artist's feelings and thoughts. Perhaps it is the exclusion or manifestation of an internal compulsion or necessity.
(...)
Selçuk looks at people with anger, joy, fear, trust, disappointment, admiration and voracious interest. All at once... He keeps looking. Maybe even at night, in the dark, at home, in his bed, he sleeps with his eyes open, or he watches his dreams with his eyes turned inward, (...) What I mean is that he keeps his eyes wide open day and night, and then he draws..."
Abidin Dino
Painter and illustrator
Ignacio Ramonet: It shows the fragmented human being
“Selçuk draws at a large angle; People and objects are often looked at closely, filling the frame. This kind of immediacy effect gives the image power and superiority. The reader is confronted with it with no escape. In this case, he becomes a witness rather than a simple playmate or observer. What does he see? The cruelty of life, the violence of a world where fragile beings are oppressed. Beings who are alienated from themselves and dragged in absurd entanglements. Beings who do not rebel or revolt, but often watch with astonishment the pressures placed on them. Is Selçuk cruel or sadistic? No, he tries to show this fragmented, deformed, divided person, in order to better bring the reader out of his passivity, to push him to act, to rebel, to move him.
Ignacio Ramonet
Former Editor-in-Chief of Le Monde Diplomatique
Who is Selçuk Demirel?
Selçuk Demirel was born in Artvin in 1954. He published his first lines in the weekly magazine 7 Gün in 1973.
In 1978, he left his architecture studies in Ankara and went to Paris. In 1979, he passed the Paris École Nationale Supérieure de Beaux-Artsin exams.
He could not become a regular student. The Mumuk series, which he wrote and illustrated for children in 1980-1981, and his drawings were published in Le Monde newspaper in the same year. His drawings appeared in important newspapers, magazines and books, especially in Turkey, France, many European countries and America.
Selçuk Demirel, who regularly works in Le Monde, Le MondeDiplomatique and T24, has personal exhibitions as well as pattern albums and more than 50 books written and illustrated for children and published with various authors. 23 of the artist's works, whose works are included in important private collections, were included in the museum's collection by Musée National L'Histoire de l'Immigration in 2022.