The 3rd edition of the contemporary art fair “CI Bloom” begins with a preview on April 24th. The fair, which will continue with general visits between April 25-28 at Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Center Rumeli Halls, will exhibit 568 works by 267 different artists.
Ali Güreli, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CI Bloom, provided information to the press about the 3rd edition of the contemporary art fair CI Bloom, which will meet the audience with a preview on April 24th and general visitation from April 25th to 28th. Speaking at the press conference held at The Marmara Taksim, Güreli emphasized their aim to highlight the vibrant and innovative world of contemporary art in Turkey through CI Bloom and to become an international meeting point. He continued his speech as follows:
“CI Bloom has established its place in the art world as the young fair of Contemporary Istanbul, bringing dynamism to the contemporary art scene in Turkey and a breath of fresh air internationally. In line with the vision of a creative and free Istanbul, CI Bloom aims to reach every corner of Turkey and bring together the new players in culture and art with international collectors and art enthusiasts. Giving importance to cultural diplomacy to enhance Istanbul’s visibility internationally and to develop Turkey’s contemporary art scene, CI Bloom operates with this mission through domestic and international events.”
Sharing data on the state of the 2023 global art market, Güreli stated that sales in the art market fell by 4 percent worldwide last year to 65 billion dollars. Underlining that high inflation and economic contraction in the world and in Turkey affected the art market, Güreli said: “High interest rates, inflation and political instability caused sales in the upper segment to become sparse. What we mean by the upper segment is that artworks from the period starting with the Impressionists and continuing on are no longer changing hands intensively. Collectors are not selling these works. Some of them sell them if they have to. In other words, if 300 artworks of that period used to change hands annually, today this has dropped to 50.”
China Ranked Second
“Despite this decline, the transaction volume of the market is also increasing in 2023. This is an important and positive development in terms of the spread of art,” Güreli said and added: “On the other hand, the sales of auctions and galleries are decreasing. There is a contraction of 3 percent in galleries and 7 percent in auctions. The situation of auctions is more serious. But the reason for this is that the high-value sales I mentioned earlier have decreased.”
Sharing information about the position of countries in the global art market, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CI Bloom said that the USA maintained its position as the leading market worldwide, despite a 3 percent decline last year. Noting that the UK, the second largest market worldwide, lost its place to China with a 17 percent decline and France maintained its fourth place.
Bike Çetinel, Director of CI Bloom, focused on the impact of the continuity of the 3rd edition of the contemporary art fair on the contemporary art market in Turkey. “We are a young fair and we are targeting contemporary art in Turkey,” said Çetinel and continued:
“We have been working for a long time on how we can bring new, young, dynamic and different art in Turkey to the forefront and how we can bring it together with new collectors and young audiences, and this year we are organizing the third edition of CI Bloom. We have 24 contemporary art galleries. Within this gallery, there are galleries that are much more recently established, that have been operating for two or three years, that have never experienced a fair or a major exhibition opening. The important detail in CI Bloom will be to host completely new, young and different identities, artists and projects.”
Bike Çetinel stated that they plan to bring the art scene in Turkey to the international arena by utilizing the power of Contemporary Istanbul and said, “We aim to promote contemporary art in Turkey in the international arena, not only at CI Bloom, but also at newly opened architectural projects, gastronomy or artist workshops in Turkey. This year, we will host the representatives of ten different foreign publications that we invited for this purpose. We aim to offer a more comprehensive program by inviting them not only to CI Bloom but also to many artist workshops such as Istanbul Modern and Feshane.”
Galleries and Initiatives
Participating galleries of 3rd CI Bloom include: Art On Istanbul, Istanbul; Belm’art Space, Ankara; Bozlu Art Project, Istanbul; brieflyart, Istanbul; BüroSarıgedik, Istanbul; C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul; den art, Antalya; DifoArt, Istanbul; Dirimart, Istanbul; Galeri Bosfor, Istanbul; Galeri 77, Istanbul; Galeri Siyah Beyaz, Ankara; Muse Contemporary, Istanbul; One Arc Gallery, Istanbul; Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul; Pi Artworks, Istanbul, London; Piramid Sanat, Istanbul; Sanatorium, Istanbul; Simbart Projects, Istanbul; Taksim Sanat, Istanbul; Vision Art Platform, Istanbul; x-ist, Istanbul; Zilberman, Istanbul, Berlin, Miami; 10_12 Gallery, Istanbul.
The institutions and initiatives include Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul; Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, Istanbul; Koli Art Space, Istanbul; MAHAL, Çanakkale; and NOKS Art Space, Istanbul. This year, Bel’m art space from Ankara, 10_12 Gallery and Briefly Art Gallery from Istanbul, as well as the initiative Mahal from Çanakkale will meet the audience for the first time.
Living Things
CI Bloom presents Living Things, an exhibition by media artist Ahmet Said Kaplan in collaboration with DECOL. Living Things explores the complex interplay between the organic and inorganic realms, focusing on concepts such as traditional life and artificial constructions. Each installation demonstrates how technology can mimic, enhance and interact with elements of the natural world.
1000 Hands
At the 3rd edition of CI Bloom, the 1000 Hands Project by Universal Everything, one of the artist studios represented in the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection, will also be on view. 1000 Hands Project consists of drawings produced interactively through a mobile application. In the work, which is the product of a collective work, eye-catching shapes are constantly moving depending on the rising and falling tone of the background music. Can Mete Paker, General Manager of BMW Motorrad, said: “We are proud to embody the 1000 Hands Project during CI Bloom by linking art and the automobile by presenting the New BMW X2 and the car with a design approach identical to the model.”
Shepard Fairey
The 3rd edition of LG OLED‘s global collaboration with Shepard Fairey, street artist, social activist and founder of the OBEY streetwear brand, is being presented to art lovers. The exhibition features works that draw attention to some of the most pressing issues facing today’s society, and a selection of the artist’s well-known works can be viewed on LG OLED screens. LG Turkey Product Director Kenny Cho said at the press conference: “We are delighted to continue our partnership for the third year in a row, which started with the first edition of CI Bloom. In this year’s edition of CI Bloom, we are excited to present our collaboration with Shepard Fairey, one of the important names of the contemporary street art movement, to art lovers through state-of-the-art LG OLED screens.
Multidisciplinary artist Lal Batman‘s new spatial installation Blended Valley, which blends video art, digital manipulation, sculpture and oil painting using digital and plastic tools, can also be seen at the 3rd edition of CI Bloom.
Two Major Exhibitions
Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, the supporter of CI Bloom, is also carrying out two major exhibition projects. In September, Contemporary Istanbul presents 2,400 works from the Taviloğlu Collection, created by Mustafa Taviloğlu with great passion and dedication since 1972, with simultaneous exhibitions in 5 different venues. The collection will be on display for four months at the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture, Artİstanbul Feshane, Museum Gazhane, Haliç Shipyard, Metro Han, İşbank Kibele Art Gallery.
Contemporary Istanbul Foundation is bringing artist Tomokazu Matsuyama‘s solo exhibition to Venice simultaneously with the 60th Venice Biennale. On the 100th anniversary of Turkish-Japanese relations, the exhibition “Mythologiques“, organized in partnership with Turkish Airlines, will open in Venice in parallel with the 60th International Venice Biennale. Curated by Swiss Christoph Doswald, the exhibition will be on view at Magazzino No. 41, Marina Militare, Arsenale di Venezia for six months between April 20 and November 24.
