'PARRHESIA/FREE SPEECH'​ ​ by PINAR TURE GURSOY

'PARRHESIA/FREE SPEECH'

by PINAR TURE GURSOY

Exhibition Catalogue

www.artnumber23.uk | London - Athens

• Introduction • Artist Interview • Featured Artworks

'PARRHESIA/FREE SPEECH'

by PINAR TURE GURSOY

Introduction Born in Istanbul, Pinar Ture Gursoy completed her higher education in Urban and Regional Planning in Yildiz Technical University.

She then got married and became mother of two daughters.

Since 1998, she worked intensively at studios of numerous distinguished Turkish artists such as Prof Tayfun Erdoğmuş, Hülya Düzenli, Mahir Güven, Orhan Taylan, Seçil Büyükkan Atmaca and Izzet Keribar etc in Istanbul. During these experiences, she worked on painting, etching and photography and studied different methods that she then internalized in her art.

During the period between 2010 and 2014, she got back to university and graduated from BA in Philosophy from Anadolu University, with distinction. While studying philosophy, she was also living on and off in Paris, where she immersed herself in museums while occasionally participating to workshops at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris.

Afterwards she graduated from MSc in Museum Management from “Istanbul University”.

During 2015-2018, she lived in London, where she also explored the vibrant contemporary art scene via frequenting museums, such as Tate Modern, Barbican Center, Serpentine Art Gallery, among many others…

She has been exhibiting in various Turkish cities and also abroad in Tokyo, Lucern, Deventer, Venice, Titan, Napoli, Marakkesh, Thessaloniki, London etc...

She continues working at her own studio/home in Istanbul.

Throughout my own career, particularly initially I developed a passion for the Atelier Movement, at various established artist studios in Istanbul.

Embracing my foundation in traditional techniques, I attended workshops at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. I aim to maintain my unique visual language mixing autobiographical material with inspirations from Greek & Ottoman iconography.

My sources vary from childhood memories, sketches and the other objects that I came across at major museums.

@pinarturegursoy pnrgrsy@gmail.com www.pinargursoy.com

'On the Sofa', 2019 80 x 60 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Carmine avec manteau' , 2018 60 x 45 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Mixed Media & Oil Colour on Canvas

Which contemporary trends in the art scene are you following and who are your biggest influences?

For me, I think the clearest answer to this is “expressionism”, as well as conceptual art, abstract art and installation are very valuable in terms of inspiration.

I guess my art moves towards the abstract from time to time in my own way, feeding from these processes, but I think especially Lucian Freud is my influencer mainly about my artworks.

In the meantime, my undergraduate urban planning and architecture, our family profession, are designer architects who are in my frame of inspiration, especially Finnish Alvar Aalto, Hungarian Marcel Breuer, etc., especially the chairs, armchairs, lounge chairs, etc., which I have drawn by being influenced by the seating elements, are frequently seen in my paintings.

What is your favourite art movement up to the 20th Century and how has it affected your work?

Although I was talent in the beginning and my orientation was “the Atelier Movement”, it is quite meaningful for me to put all the feeling on the figure as an expressionist. Dominant characters of the art world (monde de l’art) who especially the figure works of Picasso's blue period, the pioneer and genius Spanish artist who adapted to all times, the Czech painter Frantiśek Kupka, the French painter Balthus (Balthazar), the Irish painter Francis Bacon, the Austrian painter Egon Schiele and of course the English painter Lucian Freud. All these painters were a touchstone and a guide for me to find and reveal the souls of women in my past and their dark places. And I watched them gladly, fondly and voluntarily.

Where do you reside and how would you describe the art scene in your country?

I was born in Istanbul, Turkey. I have been and lived in Paris for about 4 years and in London for 4 years. I attended as many galleries, museums, exhibitions, workshops etc. as I could, especially in these 3 cities. I guess it would be correct if I said I breathed art at any moment. Istanbul is the city where I currently live actually is a very inspiring city. If I have to put it in a word attributed to Napoleon; "If the world had a capital city, it would definitely be Constantinople!"

Indeed, it is a city where the sea passes through, where two separate continents meet, history gushes from each square meter, and ancient civilizations meet. These ancient Anatolian Lands, which are almost an open-air museum as a country, have the potential to make people who have nothing to do with art fall in love with themselves. And it makes a person an artist for a reason.

Now these are the historical, geographical and spatial dimensions of the work.

However, nowadays, you cannot express yourself freely enough, especially as a woman and an artist because of the reasons of politically, religiously and patriarchally, and this is a very big problem.

'Escape', 2019 100 x 120 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Mixed Media & Oil Colour on Canvas

'The girl with Cellphone', 2019 100 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Contemplate on the Red Hot' , 2019 80 x 60 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

'Girl sitting on the Couch', 2019 80 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Mixed Media & Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

How do you choose your themes? Is there a theme you return to regularly?

The theme I have chosen is actually the WOMAN BODY in a very dominant way. I can paint them in their daily life and spontaneously in various forms, nude, abstract or as Portraits etc. Describing the woman, reflecting her on the canvas with her different moods, presenting it again and again is a repetitive element that I am not tired of for now. Because this peaceful and fertile being, which contains many social roles and norms, is unfortunately constantly and systematically exploited on this male-dominated planet. Moreover, in many countries it does not even have a say about its own body ...

Give us some behind-the-scenes from the creating process/ What is the last thing you do before starting working/ What is the first thing you do when your work is done?

Of course, with pleasure, the last thing before starting a work; I think that the idea matures conceptually and visually in my mind and the formation of a sentence and a photographic image such as "it can be illustrated now and in its form" with shape and colors. It makes me say okay now, you can start now. And then I am starting to create the palette of colors that best suit to my feelings. In this case, the ones to be prepared are canvas sizes, choosing colors, proportions, etc.

And the first thing I do before finishing a work is; In fact, I can say that after making all the touches on the painting, you are in contact with your work. And at that point you give the command enough and then naturally you put aside all the brushes, oil paintings, acrylics, etc. that you have.

Because sometimes more than enough one move has the potential to ruin the entire artwork. So in this case, the first thing you should hear before you finish is DONE! must be ..

What is your work-day like?

Usually my working hours in my workshop are 10 am- 6pm. During these hours, watching TV and reading newspapers are actions that I do not like. I guess like the French designer Philippe Starck, I protect myself in this way in order to nourish my emotions with art.

I look at the photos I took and redesign them. I prepare my canvases and create a palette according to the colors I will make or feel heavily at that time. According to the subjects I set up and concentrate on, I usually start a few canvases at once and apply various touches to all of them at the same time.

Some days I can devote to methods I've never tried in painting. I paint in the background accompanied by my favorite classical music and coffee / tea / soft drinks.

Sometimes I can prefer to read magazines and books that I have been inspired by a lot, which can be in design, art, religion, mythology, psychology, etc.

'Untitled', 2019 80 x 100 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

'Virgin Mary', 2019 80 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Oil Colour on Plywood

How do you define success in an artist’s career?

I think the definition of success for an artist is to do the things he/she wishes to express and to make his/her voice heard by causing discomfort to the desired audience if necessary!

The artist must have the luxury of making “art for art”! Because then you can be a pioneer/avant-garde . And while creating your work, which may be giving a product in any branch of art "You do not feel any pressure on you that you cannot do it that way!"

However, unfortunately, this FREEDOM OF ART EXPRESSION is still a luxury or something impossible in many geographies. First of all, an artist performs his/her art as he/she wishes in a free, secular place and country. Of course, he/she can then announce this to the masses as much as possible and of course he/she can see that his/her works are appreciated and sold while he/she is alive. I guess this is the success of a living artist! Being like the sad end of genius artists like Van Gogh and Camille Claudel, it's really sad! However, this is the destiny of genius artists, even beyond their age. It may take a few generations to understand him/her and his/her works. Of course, this is also a great measure of success, but the problem here is that the artist cannot witness this situation while he/she is alive!..

What are the next steps in your career?

Until this time, I have participated in many domestic and international real and virtual group exhibitions such as Japan, Italy, Greece, UK etc. I can hardly count. However, from now on, mainly participating in solo exhibitions and auctions, maybe living in Berlin again abroad, creating an even bigger atelier are my next steps for my art career.

What do you think is more important: the concept, the techniques or both?

In fact, this question reminded me of the discourse of "Function determines design" in architecture. And the two ecoles that developed in return for this; While Italy and Germany consider design as a dominant and valuable factor, the other says that what does not fulfill the function is meaningless. Likewise, since the introduction of Contemporary Art in the 1960s, there has been a dilemma of conceptual art or technique. In my opinion, the artist should be able to stand at equal distance to both of them and should not be able to use whichever work he or she will create whenever he or she desires, not exclude it according to his mood and what he wants to tell, because both are equally important because ART MUST BE INCLUSION , NOT EXCLUSIONARY!

When people view your artwork what do you want them to experience?

Actually, what I want to convey to people through my works is; to touch their hearts. this is called emotion transition. I also care about expressing depression, pessimism, love, freedom, happiness, wellbeing, etc. many concepts we live in and are in in our lives through my paintings or photographs and that this is passed on to the audience.

Therefore, when they visit the exhibition, they experience this feeling and "I saw the eyes of the people in the painting, I was scared!" or "I felt his pain in my heart!" I want them to have feelings and empathy like that..

'Sisterly', 2021 100 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'à la plage' , 2020 100 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Jaune' , 2020 100 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Adam and Lilith', 2020 70 x 50 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Blurred', 2021 100 x 70 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Sepia Nude', 2021 100 x 80 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

'Ange ou démon', 2020 34 x 50 cm (h x w) oil colour on paper

'Baby Blues', 2020 100 x 120 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'The Young Dwarf Girl on a Blue Lounge Chair', 2019 90 x 120 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

'Entangled', 2020 70 x 50 x 3 cm (h x w x d) OIL COLOUR ON CANVAS

'Self - Censorship' , 2019 100 x 100 x 3 cm (h x w x d) Mixed Media and Oil Colour on Canvas with imitation Gold Leaf

'Nude' , 2019 25 x 50 x 3 cm (h x w x d) oil colour on paper

art number 23 London • Athens

Art Number 23 is a London based organisation with two physical Gallery spaces in London and in Athens and also a Virtual Gallery! We are organising art exhibitions in all our Galleries and we invite artists from all over the world to share their work with us and participate in our shows!

The aim is to create opportunities, in order to encourage and support artists to exhibit and promote their work.

'PARRHESIA/FREE SPEECH'

exhibition catalogue