Bozlu Art Project, undertaking the role of artist representative, will present Tenduvar, a comprehensive solo exhibition by Güven Zeyrek, a prominent figure in Turkish painting, bringing together works from his work spanning the late 1950s to the 2000s. Curated by Nazlı Pektaş, Tenduvar will be presented to art lovers at the Mongeri Building from October 3rd to November 29th.
Tenduvar traces the relationships Güven Zeyrek establishes among the themes of landscape, figure, body, and space, exploring how these themes intersect with nature, the sublime, existence, void, and color. The exhibition, spread across two floors of the Mongeri Building, develops its interpretation through the relationship between paint and the surface. The artist's existential act of creation, shared with the AKATÜNVEL group, and his childhood experience of nature in the Bergama/Kozak Plateau constitute two fundamental points of this interpretation. Focusing less on iconographic titles and more on how layers are superimposed, how interruptions and fissures are placed on the surface, and the tension between color and space, Tenduvar invites visitors to comparatively observe how the meaning generated by paint transforms throughout the paintings, rather than simply listing the themes.
The exhibition is structured within a framework encompassing the diverse functions of Bozlu Art Project, a multifaceted art institution operating since 2013. A selection of books from the studio of Güven Zeyrek, who passed away in 2021, is presented to readers in the Bozlu Art Project library, designed as an open space for all students and art professionals conducting research in art history. In addition to its gallery and library functions, the institution houses a large collection that Şükrü Bozluolcay began building since the late 1970s. The "Artist's Workshop Collection," which includes works from the Bozluolcay Collection and materials used by many prominent representatives of classical, modern, and contemporary art, presents visitors with the "Artist's Workshop Collection." As part of the Tenduvar exhibition, Güven Zeyrek's painting materials are exhibited in a dedicated area of the Mongeri Building, along with photographs selected from the artist's archive.
Works by members of the AKATÜNVEL Art Group, including Süleyman Velioğlu, Tangül, and Tamer Akakıncı, from the Bozluolcay Collection, are also available for visitors on the Mongeri Building's collection floor, which is open to visitors by appointment.
Who is Güven Zeyrek?
Born in Ayvalık in 1935, Güven Zeyrek completed his primary education at Dikili Tınaztepe Primary School in 1948. After attending Saint-Joseph French College for one year between 1949 and 1950, Zeyrek completed his secondary education at the Necatibey Teacher Training School in Balıkesir in 1954. He graduated from Ankara Gazi Education Institute in 1957. He was a student of Refik Epikman, Hayrullah Örs, Arif Kaptan, Eşref Üren, and Şinasi Barutçu. He settled in Izmir that same year and worked as a Painting and Art History teacher at Izmir Private Turkish College until 1987. The artist held his first solo exhibition at the Izmir French Cultural Center in 1960 and served as a jury member in the first DYO Painting Competition in 1967. In 1983, he met Prof. Dr. Süleyman Velioğlu and joined the AKATÜNVEL Art Group. Between 1985 and 2007, he traveled abroad for various reasons, visiting museums in Florence, Venice, Nice, Paris, Madrid, Sarajevo, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Odessa, and Sevastopol. Güven Zeyrek passed away in 2021 at the age of 86.
Source: https://www.medyaloji.net/son-haber/guven-zeyrek-tenduvar_23683929.html#google_vignette