Dirimart hosts Fluid Desire, the first solo painting exhibition by Ebru Duruman at the gallery. The show brings together the artist’s recent oil paintings created in her studio in Geneva. Duruman’s abstract depictions unveil the interactions between the corporeal and emotional realms, portraying sexuality as a bridge between body and mind.
Ebru Duruman’s works invite viewers to contemplate the complexities of identity and the fluidity of desire. Each detail in Duruman’s works becomes a tool for reclaiming autonomy and embracing authenticity, giving birth to powerful imagery that results from the interplay of abstraction and figurative art.
The intimate connection with colours and forms rooted in her childhood, alongside her desire to illuminate insights about sexuality and selfhood, perfectly converges. The stark transition between her early works depicting lifeless figures and her recent pieces encapsulates her personal artistic odyssey marked by the struggle to reconcile societal norms with her individuality, infusing Duruman’s figures with tangible physical presence.
The depicted figures transform into self-portraits, shedding light on her introspective gaze toward representations of her body and sensory experiences. Although distorted forms portrayed may seem to contradict the vivid colour palette at first glance, they – together with the interrupted aggressive brushstrokes blended with tamed fluid lines – give the audience a hint to the artist’s inner conflicts.
The Fluid Desire showcases Duruman’s works featuring a commonality as they all inhabit interior spaces. Drawing on the concept of home as the synthesis of physical and social representation, Duruman strives to transcend this socio-spatial construct by introducing an additional layer: one’s authentic self. The bodies painted by Duruman show a distinctive
amorphous pattern with thick layers of paint; this brings to mind the layers in the flow of life where individuals have to conceal their authentic selves in the outside world. As a stable and familiar space, home becomes emblematic of the only environment where the constraints of societal norms can be cast aside, allowing us to embrace our true selves without inhibition. Walking through the exhibition, confronting the large-scale oil paintings featuring significant body parts invites the viewers to reckon with themselves while also seeking the possibilities to open new discussion spaces for crucial topics.
