Curated by Selen Ansen, The Skin We Live In offers a profound exploration of Koray Ariş’s six-decade sculptural journey, presenting a dynamic and immersive exhibition at Arter. Featuring approximately 300 works and studio artifacts, the exhibition invites visitors into a realm where distinctions between sculpture, body, and object dissolve, highlighting Ariş’s sensual and experimental approach to art.
Ariş’s oeuvre, shaped within the intimacy of his Çatalca studio since 1982, reflects his seamless integration of life, art, and nature. The exhibition showcases his mastery of diverse materials, including wood, metal, found objects, and especially leather, through non-linear displays that connect abstract, figurative, and kinetic elements. Busts, torsos, and abstracted heads intertwine with natural forms, embodying Ariş’s ongoing dialogue between the natural and the artificial.
Key themes such as movement, sound, balance, and materiality surface throughout the exhibition. Ariş’s works push the boundaries of traditional sculpture, transforming faces into animals or stones, and bodies into trees or shells. By shedding conventional figurative constraints, Ariş redefines the act of sculpting itself, creating a meditative space where form evolves and materials converge.
The Skin We Live In is more than an exhibition—it’s an invitation to reconsider the essence of sculpture, guided by the tactile traces of Ariş’s hands and the organic interplay of his materials.
