Contemporary Istanbul concludes successful art fair despite Covid

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Contemporary Istanbul (CI), one of Turkey’s leading art fairs and the first international art event since the city went into lockdown, presented its 16th edition Oct. 7 – 10. The iteration was held in a significant new location: the Tersane Istanbul. 

The fair reported robust sales and welcomed over 40,000 visitors, despite Covid-19 uncertainty. It opened with a VIP Preview on October 5, when collectors, curators, artists and art enthusiasts enjoyed an exclusive first look at presentations of more than 1,200 art works of over 400 artists by 47 galleries and 11 cultural institutions.

The guests became some of the very first people to step foot inside the highly-anticipated Tersane Istanbul development, a series of converted shipyards overlooking the Golden Horn.

Among the participants were the most prestigious galleries in Turkey, from platforms for young artists such as Pilot Gallery, to the comparatively well-established Galerie Nev, founded in 1984; alongside well-known international names such as New York-based Marlborough Gallery, JD Malat Gallery from London, Zurich’s Claudia Schmidt and Bavan Gallery from Tehran.

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CI occupied 9,500 square metres of indoor space, in addition to 10,000 square metres of outdoor space – set against the spectacular backdrop of the Historical Peninsula.

Ali Gureli, Founder and Chairperson of the Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, said: “Istanbul and Venice look at each other again after hundreds of years ... We successfully held our fair in a unique location with an extremely important historical and cultural heritage.

“We were very happy to offer art lovers an unforgettable art experience on the shore of the Golden Horn, integrated with the view of the historical peninsula.

“Contemporary Istanbul has proven that it will play an active role in the contemporary arts scene, amongst other world fairs. The 16th edition of the fair was visited by sector leaders from business, art industry, collectors and art audiences.” Gizem Demirçelik, Global Operations Manager, Zilberman Gallery, said: “The change in venue created excitement, as the fair (took) place in a special and lesser-known area in Istanbul.

  Some of the most prestigious galleries took part in Contemporary Istanbul.

“The historical architecture enriched the display of artworks, as well as the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of Istanbul’s contemporary art scene. Our wish is to preserve this same venue for future iterations.”

Diana Burroughs, Director of Marlborough Gallery, commented: “I think the new venue really suits both contemporary art and the Contemporary Istanbul brand.

“The new historical venue complements the art pieces and makes visitors want to spend more time here. Not only art-wise, but also the pop-up restaurants and shops on the Bosphorus make the fair a more appealing place to spend leisure time, rather than to simply view and buy art.“

CI welcomed back many returning galleries as well as several new additions participating for the first time, including Ambidexter (Istanbul), Vision Art Platform Istanbul, Hotel Mond Fine Art (Berlin), Iranshahr Art Gallery, (Tehran), Mariana Custodio, (Lisbon), Mironova Gallery, (Kiev) and Szena Gallery (Moscow).

Speaking on the first day of the fair, Ferhat Yeter, Director of Anna Laudel, said: “Sales are very satisfactory; so far we have sold over 80 per cent of our displayed works and we expect to sell more over the weekend.

“Our prices range from €1k - €65k. A highlight for us was that we sold artworks of two national artists to a Russian collector based in France. We are happy to have this opportunity to introduce our national artists to the international art market.”

Zilberman Gallery noted that “Azade Köker’s most recent works on paper were sold to young collectors with deep interest in the artist’s work. Witty with dark humor, Memed Erdener’s works were sold to collectors with strong appreciation for the mischievous quality present in the artist’s practice.

“Omar Barquet’s works were sold to an Istanbul-based collector, who felt captivated by the works at first glance. After hesitant periods, the cultural field flourished from its long hiatus. Everyone is delighted to be out socialising and discovering new productions.”

JD Malat was almost sold out and its founder, Jean-David Malat, said that “once again, Contemporary Istanbul has been a great experience.

“It’s amazing to see the public engage with the work of our international artists and to see the Turkish collectors back on the scene. Everything from the new historic location to the impressive selection of galleries, artists and visitors, has been a real pleasure to see.”

The tendency towards international cooperation at CI was nowhere more obvious than in the booth shared by König Galerie and Istanbul-based Pilevneli Gallery, who presented works by big international names such as Katharina Grosse and Hans Op de Beeck, alongside pieces by established Turkish artists, including Ali Elmaci and Erdogan Zümrütoglu.

CI initiated a number of Curated Sections and Special Projects, including ‘The Yard’ outdoor sculpture exhibition and an exhibition of photographs by Sıtkı Kösemen, showing the popular seaside resort of Bodrum.

Sustainability and social responsibility were running themes through the Curated Sections and Special Projects, with the ‘Akrasia’ exhibition raising funds for the Tohum Autism Foundation and the ‘Flags for Future’ project, presented by ISTANBUL’74 in partnership with CI and ÜTOPIA, giving a percentage from the sales to Parley for the Oceans and TURMEPA for better a future.

The fair also celebrated the 100th birthday of the famous Turkish sculptor İlhan Koman with the exhibition ‘100-year-old-sculptor: İlhan Koman’, supported by Tosyalı Holding.

Tersane Istanbul, master-planned by Tabanlioglu Architects, aims to transform the Golden Horn, an area of coastline that was once the centre of the Ottoman naval trade, into a thriving new cultural destination.

Contemporary Istanbul was made possible thanks to the support of Akbank, Turkey’s leading private bank and the main sponsor of the fair for 16 years. Also this year TGA (Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency), supported the hosting of the foreign press.