Painter Sait Günel, whose artistic career was shaped by his education in Germany, opened his solo exhibition at the 39Laundry Art Gallery of the 39 Kalamış Marina Hotel in Kadıköy, Kalamış, on Saturday, July 12th. The exhibition welcomes art lovers as the first step in a series of cultural and artistic events titled "Art in the Neighborhood."
While his works with human and nature themes draw attention with their textural abstractions and realism combined with deformations, Günel is also attracting international attention with his nudes, created using a technique he developed. The exhibition, featuring a total of 40 three-dimensional works created using watercolor, acrylic, figurative, and abstract techniques, will be on view until August 12th.
Sait Günel, who teaches in workshops in Karaköy and Moda, Istanbul, explained that many of the works in the exhibition were created during classes with students. He said, “Most of the paintings here were made in class; they were paintings I made while showing people one-on-one. In the past, we wouldn't have had this opportunity; it would have been difficult to include paintings made in class in an exhibition, but now, with both the quality of the materials and experience, such a process has begun.”
Günel explained that painting is a process and a path, saying, “There are changes in this process; you question how you can create a new aesthetic understanding, color, and form. I never considered becoming a painter; I wanted to be productive. It turns out I shouldn't talk big, but I was very popular, and my work was very popular. There was no escape. Both my teachers and the galleries here encouraged me a lot. Now I'm just a painter; you can't live with this. You have to study, you have to improve yourself, you have to find new techniques.” Emine Özkarslıoğlu, curator of the exhibition, said, “We kicked off the first of our cultural and artistic events titled ‘Art in the Neighborhood’ at the 39 Laundry Art Gallery of the 39 Kalamış Marina Hotel with a solo painting exhibition by the esteemed painter Sait Günel. This is a very happy moment for us. We would like to extend our thanks to entrepreneur and investor Münteha Adalı for providing land support for the project.”
Source: https://www.gazetekadikoy.com.tr/kultur-sanat/mahallede-sanat