An installation by the influential artist Gülsün Karamustafa will be presented at the Türkiye Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The biennale will be taking place between 20 April and 24 November 2024. Curated by Esra Sarıgedik Öktem, the exhibition will take place at the Türkiye Pavilion located in its long-term venue at the Arsenale.
Bige Örer, Director of Istanbul Biennial and İKSV Contemporary Art Projects said: “We have a long-standing working relationship with Gülsün Karamustafa and we are thrilled to work with her in developing the exhibition for the Türkiye Pavilion. Gülsün Karamustafa is one of the leading figures of the contemporary art scene in Turkey and her work has traveled and found its significance in many different parts of the world.’’
Karamustafa’s layered artistic practice engages with the most pressing issues of our time such as displacement and migration, exile and ethnicity, sexuality and gender, and many other socio-political issues which will have a dialogue with the conceptual framework of the main exhibition titled ‘Foreigners Everywhere’, curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
Modernization of Turkey, displacement, memory, migration, and gender
Gülsün Karamustafa is an internationally acclaimed artist known for her materially and methodologically diverse works that are born out of personal and historical narratives. Throughout her densely woven artistic production that spans over five decades, Karamustafa has been utilising varied techniques, mediums, and methods to create paintings, installations, ready-mades, assemblages, photographs and videos that mainly scrutinise and showcase the historical injustices within the socio-political realm.
Primarily focused on issues related to the modernization of Turkey, displacement, memory, migration, and gender, Karamustafa is hailed as one of the most outspoken and influential contemporary artists in Turkey that has inspired the new generation of artists.
Karamustafa has participated in numerous international biennials including Istanbul, TR; São Paulo, BR; Gwangju, KR; Kyiv, UA; Singapore, SG Havana, CU; Thessaloniki, GR; Sevilla, ES.
Türkiye Pavilion located in its long-term venue at the Arsenale, sponsored by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) for the duration of 20 years from 2014 to 2034.
The Türkiye Pavilion exhibition is coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye.
The 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will run between 20 April and 24 November 2024 with the title Foreigners Everywhere and will be curated by Adriano Pedrosa.