Turkey and the Netherlands exchange art

As part of the celebrations of 400 years of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) will be showing a selection of works from the Collection of Istanbul Museum of Modern Art.

Featuring works by fourteen artists from Turkey with international reputations, the show will present their vision of such contemporary themes such as imagination, identity, recent political tensions and visual culture. The selection of works embraces a great diversity of media including painting, video art and installation.

The exhibition showcases works by fourteen artists from different periods, starting from the 1970s and up to the present. New Citizen I-II-III, a video installation by Ankara-born Inci Eviner (1956), is a large mural with three embedded video screens. In this work Eviner combines European wallpaper patterns with Ottoman tile decorations, and invites visitors to look at traditions in a new way. Another artist, Taner Ceylan (1967) is known for his photo-realistic style and gender related themes. His painting Alp on a White Background, which looks very much like a blurred photograph, portrays a person who seems to be a woman, but the name ‘Alp’ in the title suggests the opposite.

Istanbul Modern - Rotterdam is part of a mutual, collaborative project between Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Istanbul Modern. A correspondent exhibition will be a selection from the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen that will be on display in Turkey until 6 May 2012. La La La Human Steps, with works by twenty-eight international artists, including Guido van der Werve, Aernout Mik, Bruce Nauman, David Claerbout and Cindy Sherman.

Date: until June 10.
Location: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Museumpark 18 3015 CX Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm.