I was recently in Istanbul (on my honeymoon, if you must know!), where I insisted we spend our afternoon at Istanbul Modern.
With the history of Western Art so dominant, you never know when visiting a new museum if you’re going to get the same old story: the galleries no more interesting than a flip through Gombrich, engaging little with the art of the country or region the museum is in.*
Well, it was not so at Istanbul Modern! Yes, they had an Olafur Eliasson exhibition on view, but I was delighted to see Floating Islands, an exhibition of their extensive collection of Turkish artists.
And while they didn’t have many women artists from before 1950 (the very notable exception being the incredible Fahrelnissa Zaid, the only artist in the galleries I had heard of), there were women artists GALORE from midcentury onward.
Our visit was a reminder of why I love museums: for their potential for discovery. Nothing gets my heart rate up like encountering an artist I’ve never heard of, seeing their life through their work. It’s why writing about women artists is so exciting: they are a treasure trove of new thoughts and experiences, ones that somehow the world has largely neglected to recognize.
In that spirit, I thought I’d bring a few of Turkey’s women artists to you today— pretend I’m writing you a postcard from our trip! I hope you find them as exciting as I did.
İpek Duben (b. 1941)
Tomur Atagök (b. 1939)
Semiha Berksoy (1910-2004)
İnci Eviner (b. 1956)
Neş’e Erdok (b. 1940)
Now it’s your turn: Have you brought back the knowledge of new artists from your recent travels, domestic or foreign? Care to share your discoveries with the group?
*Perhaps its changed in the years since I’ve been there, but I was so disappointed at the lack of Scandinavian art at the National Museum of Denmark, for example.
Hi Hall , 💗Wishing you and Will a lovely Honeymoon. Istanbul has always been a fascinating city that I hope to visit someday for the exciting architecture & the food. Lovely that you are there now,
and thanks for introducing us to Turkish artists. I especially enjoy İpek Duben paintings. It seems that abstraction seems more popular than figuration in contemporary Turkish art.
What a great place for a honeymoon! And what a great new husband who wants to go out art looking 💯⭐️
In Palm Springs I visited the art museum and there was an exhibit by Kali the artographer. An amazing story of an artist living out of the public eye and making amazing work.
https://www.psmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/kali