Thursday, September 29 at 6 PM - 9 PM
Manhattan Loft Gallery, 65 Hopton St, London, SE1 9JL
Artkurio and Open Space Contemporary are pleased to announce ‘All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Burnt…’, a group exhibition developed to showcase internationally known young, emerging contemporary artists from the UK, Turkey and worldwide. Supported by the Manhattan Loft Gallery in London, the exhibition proposes to discuss concepts of consumption, materiality, and objecthood in light of today’s contemporary environment.
In the age of Globalisation, once described as the latest name for imperialism by Clifford McLucas, the world has changed dramatically and rapidly, affecting economic, social, political and cultural aspects of life, which have brought not only opportunities but also challenges. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin states that the mass reproduction of art has a consequence on the “aura” of the art itself. In other terms, the existence of an artwork in time and space gradually loses its function as an individual unit by means of reproduction. ‘All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Burnt…’ will focus on the reinterpretation of materiality and the context it plays in the 21st century, featuring emerging artists that work across disciplines such as installation, painting, sculpture, video, stitching and works on paper.
The use of materiality, value, use of consumption and acquisition of goods play a significant role in the exhibition, which acts as a social commentary on the contemporary art market, mass production and fabrication of artworks, and further explores the materiality used in relation to the value of the object. In this context, the idea of belonging and ownership also plays an important role when relating to status and self-identity. The artists included in the exhibition centrally explore and critique these concepts with a multifaceted approach, often featuring sites of consumption, acquisition of goods and tracing the histories of objects in their work.
Patrick Hough deals with critical questions around cinema, technology and museology, through an archive of historical film props. Through questioning mankind’s relationship with objects, Hough reflects on the ways in which cinematic images are indelibly embedded in our perception of history.
Ahmet Civelek’s Spoon Paintings highlight his interests in the everyday. In comparison to his previous Puzzle Paintings, these works are an amalgamation between painting and sculpture, addressing manipulation, reconstruction and destruction of the object with a distinctly humorous undertone.
Working and living in Istanbul, Güneş Terkol considers the relationships and social conditions of found materials she has encountered in her immediate environment, in order to re-use these fabrics to construct narratives through sewing, videos, sketches and musical compositions.
Influenced by Minimalism, Abstract Art and Arte Povera Rebecca Ward’s practice surrounds the iconography of feminine gesture. Her paintings and large scale installations,experiment with a wide range of non-traditional materials including: bleach, spray paint, tape and dye.
In her ongoing Destination installation series Meriç Algün Ringborg challenges our understanding of what constitutes a nation. Ringborg concentrates on issues of identity, borders, bureaucracy and language, and assembles the objects and texts that a traveller can take while crossing a country’s border. The connections made between these objects displays the law of a nation, with each grouping of objects becoming a representation for a specific geographical space.
Consumption plays a significant role in our lives, especially in the context of Rafal Zaijko’s sculptures or, in the artist’s words, “physical pieces”. Zaijko dissects his pieces to their bare bones to express a diverse language; a language that questions the relationship between abstraction and figuration and performance, referencing materiality, texture and intervention. This is not to mention the technological aspect of Zaiko’s work, which is often improvised and has a very DIY aesthetic.
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Open Space Contemporary
Initiated by Huma Kabakcı, Open Space Contemporary is an international contemporary art project that looks into promoting cross-cultural dialogue between artists, curators and art practitioners internationally. The first edition took place in London in September 2014 with the exhibition titled “City Senses” in collaboration with curator Aisha Stoby and artists Ardan Özmenoğlu & Radhika Khimji. This particular nomadic project space aims to create recognition, present artists and curators coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences and artistic practices.
By calling itself ‘open,’ Open Space Contemporary aims to explore various art media through talks, performances, moving images, screenings and dialogues. One of the key objectives of the project is to further the curatorial and artistic discourse and open up to other exhibitions and symposiums.
In tandem with other creatives and arts professionals such as artists, curators, writers, designers, architects and thinkers Open Space Contemporary invites and encourages a peer driven dialogue. Contributors are invited to participate on the blog and for regional and international events.
Huma Kabakcı
Huma Kabakcı is an independent curator and second generation collector who specialises in Modern, Contemporary Turkish and Central Asian Art. She founded Open Space Contemporary in 2014, an international contemporary art project that looks into promoting cross-cultural dialogue between artists, curators and art practitioners that have connections between London and Istanbul. Kabakci, is on the committee of the Young Patrons of the Royal Academy and is also a Silver Patron of the Tate Museum.
Kabakcı co-curated “Memory and Continuity” along Esra Alicavusoglu, a selected exhibition from the Huma Kabakcı Collection at the Pera Museum (24 February-8 May 2016). Recently she curated the exhibition titled “Made in Istanbul” by Ardan Özmenoğlu supported by Siyah Beyaz Gallery at Osthaus Museum Hagen (15 April- 5 June 2016), in Germany.
Artkurio Consultancy
Artkurio Consultancy was founded in 2016, by London-based curator and art consultant, Burcu Yüksel. Born and raised in Istanbul, Burcu has lived in multiple cities worldwide, and has worked with an extensive knowledge of the old masters and the contemporary art world. This unique passion to contribute to the creative scene from both ends of the spectrum is what distinguishes Artkurio Consultancy. Benefiting from a wide network of art professionals and artists, AK Consultancy has the ability to tailor to and work around one’s different areas of interests and needs within the art world.
Burcu Yüksel
Burcu Yüksel has been a Director of the renowned London Old Masters gallery Derek Johns since 2009 and is part of the founding team of London’s exciting new performance festival Block Universe, which debuted in June 2015.
Burcu is involved in a select number of non-profit arts organizations. She is on the committee of the Young Patrons of the Royal Academy and served as Co-Chair of Future Unit of Parasol Unit foundation for contemporary art. Burcu is also a patron of Tate, the Istanbul-based SAHA Organization, a founding partner of Outset Young Production Fund in London and one of the Visionaries of PERFORMA, performance biennial in New York.
As a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Turkey, Burcu occasionally interviews artists and art professionals for Turkish publications. Her past interviewees include artists Gilbert & George, Anselm Kiefer, Marina Abramovic, Antony Gormley, David Shrigley and Gary Hume, as well as Frieze co-founder Amanda Sharp and Sir Nicholas Penny, former director of the National Gallery, London.
Manhattan Loft Gallery
Over the past 20 years Manhattan Loft Corporation has moved from niche player to nascent superbrand. Established in 1992 by Harry Handelsman, its success is based on challenging conventions and addressing the needs of individuals rather than “the market”. No two MLC projects are alike; each one represents a fresh engagement with a place and the people that surround it. MLC is about harnessing the best in forward-thinking new design, creating developments that break the mould and environments that address the changing needs of the community.
Manhattan Loft Gallery, 65 Hopton St, London, SE1 9JL
Artkurio and Open Space Contemporary are pleased to announce ‘All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Burnt…’, a group exhibition developed to showcase internationally known young, emerging contemporary artists from the UK, Turkey and worldwide. Supported by the Manhattan Loft Gallery in London, the exhibition proposes to discuss concepts of consumption, materiality, and objecthood in light of today’s contemporary environment.
In the age of Globalisation, once described as the latest name for imperialism by Clifford McLucas, the world has changed dramatically and rapidly, affecting economic, social, political and cultural aspects of life, which have brought not only opportunities but also challenges. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin states that the mass reproduction of art has a consequence on the “aura” of the art itself. In other terms, the existence of an artwork in time and space gradually loses its function as an individual unit by means of reproduction. ‘All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets Burnt…’ will focus on the reinterpretation of materiality and the context it plays in the 21st century, featuring emerging artists that work across disciplines such as installation, painting, sculpture, video, stitching and works on paper.
The use of materiality, value, use of consumption and acquisition of goods play a significant role in the exhibition, which acts as a social commentary on the contemporary art market, mass production and fabrication of artworks, and further explores the materiality used in relation to the value of the object. In this context, the idea of belonging and ownership also plays an important role when relating to status and self-identity. The artists included in the exhibition centrally explore and critique these concepts with a multifaceted approach, often featuring sites of consumption, acquisition of goods and tracing the histories of objects in their work.
Patrick Hough deals with critical questions around cinema, technology and museology, through an archive of historical film props. Through questioning mankind’s relationship with objects, Hough reflects on the ways in which cinematic images are indelibly embedded in our perception of history.
Ahmet Civelek’s Spoon Paintings highlight his interests in the everyday. In comparison to his previous Puzzle Paintings, these works are an amalgamation between painting and sculpture, addressing manipulation, reconstruction and destruction of the object with a distinctly humorous undertone.
Working and living in Istanbul, Güneş Terkol considers the relationships and social conditions of found materials she has encountered in her immediate environment, in order to re-use these fabrics to construct narratives through sewing, videos, sketches and musical compositions.
Influenced by Minimalism, Abstract Art and Arte Povera Rebecca Ward’s practice surrounds the iconography of feminine gesture. Her paintings and large scale installations,experiment with a wide range of non-traditional materials including: bleach, spray paint, tape and dye.
In her ongoing Destination installation series Meriç Algün Ringborg challenges our understanding of what constitutes a nation. Ringborg concentrates on issues of identity, borders, bureaucracy and language, and assembles the objects and texts that a traveller can take while crossing a country’s border. The connections made between these objects displays the law of a nation, with each grouping of objects becoming a representation for a specific geographical space.
Consumption plays a significant role in our lives, especially in the context of Rafal Zaijko’s sculptures or, in the artist’s words, “physical pieces”. Zaijko dissects his pieces to their bare bones to express a diverse language; a language that questions the relationship between abstraction and figuration and performance, referencing materiality, texture and intervention. This is not to mention the technological aspect of Zaiko’s work, which is often improvised and has a very DIY aesthetic.
---
Open Space Contemporary
Initiated by Huma Kabakcı, Open Space Contemporary is an international contemporary art project that looks into promoting cross-cultural dialogue between artists, curators and art practitioners internationally. The first edition took place in London in September 2014 with the exhibition titled “City Senses” in collaboration with curator Aisha Stoby and artists Ardan Özmenoğlu & Radhika Khimji. This particular nomadic project space aims to create recognition, present artists and curators coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences and artistic practices.
By calling itself ‘open,’ Open Space Contemporary aims to explore various art media through talks, performances, moving images, screenings and dialogues. One of the key objectives of the project is to further the curatorial and artistic discourse and open up to other exhibitions and symposiums.
In tandem with other creatives and arts professionals such as artists, curators, writers, designers, architects and thinkers Open Space Contemporary invites and encourages a peer driven dialogue. Contributors are invited to participate on the blog and for regional and international events.
Huma Kabakcı
Huma Kabakcı is an independent curator and second generation collector who specialises in Modern, Contemporary Turkish and Central Asian Art. She founded Open Space Contemporary in 2014, an international contemporary art project that looks into promoting cross-cultural dialogue between artists, curators and art practitioners that have connections between London and Istanbul. Kabakci, is on the committee of the Young Patrons of the Royal Academy and is also a Silver Patron of the Tate Museum.
Kabakcı co-curated “Memory and Continuity” along Esra Alicavusoglu, a selected exhibition from the Huma Kabakcı Collection at the Pera Museum (24 February-8 May 2016). Recently she curated the exhibition titled “Made in Istanbul” by Ardan Özmenoğlu supported by Siyah Beyaz Gallery at Osthaus Museum Hagen (15 April- 5 June 2016), in Germany.
Artkurio Consultancy
Artkurio Consultancy was founded in 2016, by London-based curator and art consultant, Burcu Yüksel. Born and raised in Istanbul, Burcu has lived in multiple cities worldwide, and has worked with an extensive knowledge of the old masters and the contemporary art world. This unique passion to contribute to the creative scene from both ends of the spectrum is what distinguishes Artkurio Consultancy. Benefiting from a wide network of art professionals and artists, AK Consultancy has the ability to tailor to and work around one’s different areas of interests and needs within the art world.
Burcu Yüksel
Burcu Yüksel has been a Director of the renowned London Old Masters gallery Derek Johns since 2009 and is part of the founding team of London’s exciting new performance festival Block Universe, which debuted in June 2015.
Burcu is involved in a select number of non-profit arts organizations. She is on the committee of the Young Patrons of the Royal Academy and served as Co-Chair of Future Unit of Parasol Unit foundation for contemporary art. Burcu is also a patron of Tate, the Istanbul-based SAHA Organization, a founding partner of Outset Young Production Fund in London and one of the Visionaries of PERFORMA, performance biennial in New York.
As a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Turkey, Burcu occasionally interviews artists and art professionals for Turkish publications. Her past interviewees include artists Gilbert & George, Anselm Kiefer, Marina Abramovic, Antony Gormley, David Shrigley and Gary Hume, as well as Frieze co-founder Amanda Sharp and Sir Nicholas Penny, former director of the National Gallery, London.
Manhattan Loft Gallery
Over the past 20 years Manhattan Loft Corporation has moved from niche player to nascent superbrand. Established in 1992 by Harry Handelsman, its success is based on challenging conventions and addressing the needs of individuals rather than “the market”. No two MLC projects are alike; each one represents a fresh engagement with a place and the people that surround it. MLC is about harnessing the best in forward-thinking new design, creating developments that break the mould and environments that address the changing needs of the community.
'In the Pharmacy" sewin on fabric, 88 cm x 155 cm . 2011
"you are as you remember", sewing on fabric, 123 cm x 79 cm, 2011
