Galeri Siyah Beyaz’s project space, Özel Şeyler, is hosting architect Selçuk Alten’s solo exhibition, Thought Maps V. On view through 28 March 2026, the exhibition places the very act of thinking at its center.
Selçuk Alten defines his approach to painting as an act of thinking. Transferring the tension between chaos and order inherent in architectural planning onto canvas and paint, the artist reads this process like a map. Steering away from the conventions of academic painting, Alten moves beyond merely questioning traditional notions of painting. Comprising drawings on canvas and paper, the exhibition draws nourishment from two centers: poems, songs, written texts, and the reflections evoked by Sığacık (the northern harbor of ancient Teos), where Alten lives. The references span a wide field, ranging from Yaşar Kemal and Nâzım Hikmet to Italo Calvino.
In his architectural practice, Alten shares with viewers the routes of thinking he has developed around the “rejection of the building.” This approach, which steps outside professional conditioning, forms the intellectual backbone of the exhibition.
Thought Maps V can be visited at Siyah Beyaz Özel Şeyler every day except Sunday, between 11:00 and 19:00.
