Taner
Ceylan, “We Now Must Say Goodbye” Paul Kasmin Gallery
Paul Kasmin
Gallery is pleased to present We now must say goodbye, Taner Ceylan’s second
solo-exhibition, on view at 297 10th Avenue from October 8 – October 31,
2015. The exhibition examines authorship
in portraiture, and features two new portrait paintings and 10 drawings
inspired by the authoritative work Princess de Broglie, 1851-53 by
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
Influenced
by the words of playwright Oscar Wilde, “Every portrait that is painted with
feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter,” We now must say
goodbye highlights two canvases that together comprise one work: a recreation
of the original portrait with the head of Ingres on the Princess’ body, and a
smaller portrait solely of the Princess de Broglie’s bust. The two paintings
hang apart, confronting the beholder with the image of the sitter on one side
and the incorporated portrait of the original artist on the other.
These new
Ingres-inspired paintings are an evolution of Ceylan’s Unfinished Painting
series, which also examine historical Orientalist portraits through a
contemporary, Eastern lens. The portraits involved an in-depth study of Ingres’
technique and process, as well as a detailed, in-person analysis of the
original painting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Ingres was
widely recognized for his highly realistic portraits of the fashionable upper
class. Princess de Broglie, 1851-53, one of his most famous works, was his last
commissioned portrait of a female sitter. The unique positioning of the
portraits alludes to the exhibition’s title, taken from poet Bertolt Brecht’s
Alabama Song, as Ceylan offers Ingres the chance to say goodbye to the Princess
de Broglie and, perhaps, to portraiture altogether.
The
exhibition also debuts 10 new drawings on antique paper, self-portraits by
Ceylan in the style of Ingres’ drawings. By embedding classical subjects in a
contemporary context, Ceylan “reimagines the world that has been masked by time
and distorted narrative.”
Taner
Ceylan has exhibited in numerous museums, and galleries; the 8th International
Istanbul Biennial (2003); the 9th International Istanbul Biennial (2005),
“Postcards from CAC” at the Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans (2009);
“Naked” at Paul Kasmin Gallery (2009); Istanbul Next Wave (2010);
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2010); “Istanbul Modern” at the Museum Boijman Van
Beuningen, Rotterdam (2011). His work is in private and public collections
worldwide, including the Sveaas Art Collection and the Istanbul Museum of
Modern Art. A large-scale interpretation of Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo’s
famous painting ‘Il Quarto Stato’ and a new portrait of Pellizza, are currently
on view at the Istanbul Modern from September 5 – November 1, 2015 as part of
the 2015 Istanbul Biennial Saltwater curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev.
Venue name:
Paul Kasmin Gallery
Address: 297 Tenth Ave, New York City, 10018
Cross
street: at 27th St
Opening
hours: Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
Transport:
Subway: C, E to 23rd St (Eighth Ave)
Event
website: http://212-563-4474
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